From Engineering to Ibope: Laerte Finotelli's Journey
Product coordinator explains how transitioning from the automotive industry to media research shaped his perspective on data.
Laerte Finotelli details his background in ABC Paulista, his tenure at Volkswagen, and his transition to Ibope. The product coordinator discusses the contrast between engineering and advertising, as well as the cultural challenges of hybrid work.
Laerte Finotelli, product coordinator at Ibope, spoke with Bruno Gimenes on Marketing - The Podcast about his career transition from automotive engineering to media research and audience data analytics. The full episode also covers advertising metrics and data governance.
Industrial Roots in the ABC Region and Time at Volkswagen
Raised in Santo André, Finotelli began his technical education in mechatronics before pursuing a degree in industrial engineering. His career started in regional manufacturing, working across a tire plant and the coffee industry before landing an internship at a Volkswagen factory, where he stayed for a little over three years after being hired as a contractor.
Finotelli began his undergraduate studies at FEI and completed his degree at Fundação Santo André. Reflecting on his technical background, Finotelli recalls a common phrase in the academic environment: "there's a sort of stigma in engineering, especially in industrial engineering, where you're warned not to be like a duck—swimming, running, and flying, but doing none of them well." For him, the joke highlights the necessity of understanding where each professional delivers true value.
The Contrast Between Engineering and Brand Communication
During his time at the automaker, collaborating on vehicle development created a conceptual friction regarding marketing. While technical teams invested heavily in testing and mechanical specifications, advertising campaigns focused on broader emotional connections with end consumers.
This difference in perspective caught Finotelli's attention on the plant floor. "We're not trying to sell cars to engine engineers; we're trying to sell cars to the general public. And the ad, the marketing asset, has to connect with a wide audience," Finotelli says regarding the insight that motivated him to pursue a postgraduate specialization in Big Data and Marketing at ESPM.
Joining Ibope and Moving into Product Management
It was during his postgraduate studies that Finotelli first connected with the research institute's sports division—then known as Ibope Repucom—through an ESPM professor. After going through the interview process, he joined the company in 2019, clocking more than seven years within the organization by the time of the recording.
Finotelli emphasizes that his journey at the company was shaped by working under female leadership and immersing himself in a routine driven by precise data and statistics. "Throughout my entire career, I've only had female managers, and honestly, each one was more incredible than the last—exceptionally strong in business acumen, brand power, and building trust," he notes.
Corporate Culture and Hybrid Work Integration
In the video above, Finotelli and Bruno delve into how the hybrid work model transformed team integration dynamics within legacy companies. With a workforce distributed across various locations working alongside colleagues with 25 or 30 years at the company, preserving interpersonal bonds requires deliberate internal culture management.
Pre-pandemic office life helped establish deep workplace relationships, but remote flexibility expanded hiring far beyond major metropolitan hubs. "These are long careers where people have known each other for years, attending each other's weddings and birthdays. And then you have new people coming in from other states or regional towns, and opening the door to working from home allows you to bring them into the fold as well," Finotelli explains.