I grew up in Maceió, State of Alagoas, Brasil — a beach town where success for a woman was measured by marriage and children before 30. I rejected that script early, moved alone to São Paulo, and eventually found my way to one of the world's most powerful banks.
At JPMorgan, I was an outsider — a foreign woman in an American bank, building a business in a male-dominated Latin American market. I was told I was too aggressive. Too much. I built an all-female global private equity sales team and proved what was supposed to be impossible.
"The accomplishments were like a drug. The more I conquered, the more I wanted."
By the time I made Executive Director in my early thirties, I had missed birthdays, ended a six-year relationship, and learned to perform in every room I walked into — no matter which city in the world. In December 2022, I had a panic attack at my desk in NY while managing a major deal. I went back to work and kept going. That's how I knew something was very wrong.
I left JPMorgan London in August of 2024 — no plan, no next job, just clarity that something had to stop. I spent six months traveling the world, including Bali (Indonesia), where I learned that the home I'd been searching for had always been inside me.
I don't just blame my former job for my burnout. I take full responsibility for my part. And that's exactly what I want to talk about.
Now I am stepping into entrepreneurship for the first time in my life, and doing the hardest thing I've ever done: building a life that actually belongs to me. No blueprint. No job title to hide behind. Just a clear decision that what comes next has to be built from the inside out, on terms I chose.
This is my next big project. And for the first time, it's the right one.
