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