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February 2018 FORUM

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<strong>February</strong> <strong>2018</strong><br />

MEMBER HIGHLIGHTS<br />

Astrid Rizzi: Never Give Up, Always Do Your Best<br />

compiled by Jackie Wyant, Managing Editor<br />

I<br />

was born in Egypt on May 19 th , 1938, as<br />

Astrid Leonard. When I was eight years<br />

old, my father decided it was time to leave<br />

Egypt, since he had been a volunteer with the<br />

Intelligence Service of the Allies and his life<br />

was in danger. In São Paulo, I first studied at<br />

Graded and later on St. George's School, both<br />

of which gave me a very Anglo-American<br />

education and background.<br />

At the age of seventeen, I took on a<br />

temporary job to act as interpreter for a<br />

Canadian executive who was facing great<br />

difficulties in starting a company in Brazil,<br />

American Flange & Manufacturing Company.<br />

Due to my extreme dedication and goodwill,<br />

Mr. Marchyn decided to cancel an executive<br />

secretary from Ford he had hired, and that<br />

is where I learned the importance of making<br />

myself as useful as possible.<br />

After this first job experience, I had the<br />

opportunity of working six more times for<br />

American companies starting up in Brazil,<br />

such as Bankers Trust, Baker McKenzie, and<br />

the last one, Young & Rubicam (Y&R). I knew<br />

all the ropes and frustrations of starting a<br />

company from scratch. After working out of<br />

a crowded living room with children running<br />

around, or in a hotel lobby, I dreamt of setting<br />

up a company where I would offer temporary<br />

office space, fully equipped with a telex<br />

machine, IBM typewriters, Xerox machines,<br />

etc., with all the secretarial and consulting<br />

help necessary to foreign companies starting<br />

up. And since I was getting involved with the<br />

wives of my clients, I decided to join AmSoc<br />

and International Newcomers Club, so that<br />

I could help introduce the foreign families<br />

to Brazil. This company was initially called<br />

Great Start Executive Offices & Services Ltda.,<br />

and became so well known that my name<br />

appeared in Who’s Who in the World.<br />

On a more personal side of my life, at the age<br />

of nineteen I became a mother to Roberto<br />

Rizzi, who now is a well known gastro surgeon<br />

running four clinics in São Paulo. My second<br />

husband was an American, Victor Pike, who<br />

had been Man of the Year when he was<br />

Chrysler's first president in Brazil. Due to his<br />

marketing expertise, when I would mention<br />

my dream of temporary offices, he would not<br />

let me give up until I borrowed the money to<br />

start my company at the Praça da Republica. In<br />

1974, Brazil had never heard of such a service,<br />

and to this day, I still help the occasional foreign<br />

company start-up by becoming their legal<br />

representative and offering a legal address.<br />

However, as of 1980, I moved to Rua Santo<br />

Arcadio, 469, Brooklin, where I could no<br />

longer offer temporary offices, but the service<br />

I had already become well known for, placing<br />

top-level executive secretaries in the startup<br />

companies at Great Start, led me to specialize<br />

in recruitment and placement in this particular<br />

area, where, once again, I was the first person<br />

to specialize in this service. The secret to my<br />

success was that I insisted on interviewing the<br />

boss, so that, based on all the details of his<br />

requirements, I would be able to place the ideal<br />

person. I was fortunate to have the support<br />

of Korn Ferry's David Ivy and Robert Wong,<br />

who introduced me to their clients in need<br />

of efficient and fluent-in-English assistance;<br />

companies such as Cargill, Federal Express,<br />

Mastercard, and even Mr. Henrique Meirelles<br />

of Bank of Boston. I also was helped by the<br />

American and British Chambers of Commerce,<br />

not forgetting the Hilton Hotel and Price<br />

Waterhouse round the corner from my offices.<br />

Volunteer of the Month<br />

The amazing volunteer of the month for<br />

<strong>February</strong> is Jordan Monson!<br />

Jordan Monson<br />

Jordan is a fantastic Youth Sports Program<br />

(YSP) coach, who has been working with our<br />

enthusiastic young athletes for 4 seasons.<br />

Terrific with kids, he has shown patience and<br />

commitment while coaching both football<br />

and basketball sessions over the years.<br />

Thank you, Jordan, for helping make our YSP<br />

program a success!<br />

To nominate the next Volunteer of the Month, email forum@amsoc.com.br<br />

14<br />

The American Society of São Paulo <strong>FORUM</strong> Newsletter

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