Fabio Barbosa

Fábio Barbosa, a prominent figure in Brazil’s banking industry, is recognized as one of the leading authorities on the incorporation of sustainable practices into business models. 

Since 2022 he is the CEO of holding company Natura &CO. He previously served as CEO of Abril Group S.A, one of Latin America’s largest and most influential communications and media groups (2011-2015), and president of bank ABN Amro Real (1996-2008). In 2008, with the acquisition of Bank Real by Santander, he became president of Bank Santander Brazil (2008-2011). His track record in banking transparency and impact finance paved the way for his nomination as president of the Brazilian Banks’ Association (FEBRABAN) (2007-2011).

Fábio Barbosa also worked at Citibank for seven years in the areas of planning and control, treasury, and corporate finance and capital markets. He began his career at Nestlé, where he worked for 10 years in finance and control in Brazil, the United States, and Switzerland.

As president of Bank Real, Fábio Barbosa introduced a transformative sustainability program, that included social and environmental risk analysis, ethical investment funding, microcredit operations, and a diversity program, all of which led Real to be recognized by the Financial Times and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as the world’s most sustainable bank (2008) and as the most sustainable bank in emerging markets (2006). Under his leadership, Bank Real also received the World Business Award by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum, and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for its contribution to the Millennium Development Goals (2006).

In 2012 he was a recipient of the UN’s highest environmental honor, the Champions of the Earth. He was also recognized as Leader of Social Change by the Foundation for Social Change in partnership with the UN (2010), as Person of the Year by the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce (2011), and selected as one of the 100 most influential people in Brazil (Época magazine, 2009).

He has been a member of the Board of Directors of the UN Foundation since 2011, together with Kofi Annan, Gro Brundtland, Muhammad Yunus, Ted Turner, and Queen Rania of Jordan. He is also a board member of Insper (Institute of Education and Research), Endeavor Brazil, and Ayrton Senna Institute. He is president of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra (OSESP) Foundation.

Fábio Barbosa graduated in Business Administration from the Getúlio Vargas Foundation in Brazil (FGV) and has an MBA from the International Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland.