Ricardo Serpa

I opened my photography studio in July of 2005, in Weston, Florida, after identifying the need for a high-end commercial studio in the area I lived with my family. The studio was first registered as Lux Images, and it soon grew to become one of South Florida’s most sought-after companies for quality and innovative portrait and lifestyle photography. It became a multi-photographer company and also worked in upscale events for families, with a recognized brand name and excellent reviews from its clients. The need for new challenges and horizons made me change the direction of the studio, and in 2014, Lux Images became Ricardo Serpa Photography, focused on documentary, travel and fine art photography.

Brex America was created by the then Brazilian duty-free operator Brasif, aiming to introduce Brazilian food and beverage products in the mainstream US market. I was hired to lead the company's marketing efforts in establishing Brazilian household brands in the North American market, coordinating with Brex's portfolio of companies and the potential clients in the US. I decided to leave the company in June of 2005 to open a commercial photography studio based out of Weston, Florida.

After moving to South Florida with my family, I founded an e-commerce company targeting Brazilians living in the US and Canada, under the name of supermercadobrazil.com. I was responsible for all aspects involved in the creation and development of the company: business plans, financial and sales projections, presentations, funding, and resources management. In August of 2001, the company acquired FZM International, dedicated to representing Brazilian exporters in the US. The adverse economic and social changes after 9/11 forced me to close the company in April of 2004, as more and more Brazilians returned to their home country. This change in the company's target audience was due to an increasingly unfavorable scenario for immigrants in the US, as well as positive changes in the Brazilian economy at the time.

Founder and manager of the company, a graphics design firm specialized in web and print design for medium and large corporations in Brazil. I directed, supervised, and motivated the staff of photographers, graphic designers, writers, and account executives. I was also in charge of developing business relations with major multinational clients and prospecting new ones. Futura Imagem was one of the first digital creative studios in Brazil, using state-of-the-art technology help clients explore new mediums in communications.

Sanofi Beauté, part of the French Sanofi Group, was the owner of several luxury perfumes and cosmetic brands such as Yves St-Laurent, Van Cleef & Arpels, Oscar de La Renta, Roger et Gallet, and other well-known names in the beauty industry. As Marketing and Sales Director for Latin America, I was responsible for selecting distributors in several different countries and supervising their operations and sales efforts with all the company's brands. An important part of the job was suggesting and implementing marketing actions with each local importer/distributor and helping them to gain market share with the represented brands. The job also involved extensive travel (visits to each regional market, participation in trade shows, and periodic strategic meetings at the company's headquarters in France). I left the company to open my own creative business in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

After several years working as a finance and marketing executive, I found an opportunity to do something very different from my educational background and yet very close to two of my passions, which are photography and writing. As a news photographer for the oldest and most traditional newspaper in Brazil, Jornal do Brasil, I was able to photograph daily news nationally and internationally, and also to suggest and develop my own stories and subjects for both the newspaper's daily edition and Sunday color magazine. I left the job after getting married and receiving an excellent offer to return to an executive position in a French company specialized in luxury goods.

Souza Cruz is the leading tobacco company in Brazil, owned by B.A.T (British American Tobacco), with over 90% of market share nationally. As an Export Manager, I was responsible for the introduction of Brazilian cigarette brands in many countries of South America, establishing distributors and prospecting new markets. The job involved intensive traveling and market research in each country, and I was also responsible for the development of specific products adapted to local cultures. I left the company in order to follow a life-long desire to be more involved with my favorite activity, photography.

I joined the Brazilian branch of Dutch-based ABN Bank (Banco Aymoré de Investimento) as soon as I started college, and left only after my graduation in Business Administration. Beginning as a trainee, I became a Financial Analyst, following major companies listed in the stock market and advising the Investment Board on the opportunities for both the bank's Stocks Funds and Personal Asset Management Funds.