Mateus Hintz

Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business

“Passionate about self-improvement and my family. Intellectually curious. Like solving clients’ needs. Love nature.”

Hometown: Florianópolis, Brazil

Fun Fact About Yourself: I’m a Brazilian amateur surfer! Florianópolis has world-class surfing I love, though I also hope to surf on all continents of the world someday (including wave pools)! Surfing connects me with nature and is as much a meditation as a sport for me.

Undergraduate School and Major: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina – Economics

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Clube FII (Start-up) – B2B Project Analyst

What excites you most about studying in Washington, DC? Studying in the capital of the United States is an incredible opportunity! I’m fascinating by its proximity to the main political decisions, embassies, international organizations, and headquarters of some of the biggest corporations in the world. I believe it will enhance my classroom experience.

Also, the architecture and design of offices and government buildings downtown are truly beautiful. I really appreciate the design of the city and its buildings and how well they are maintained.

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key part of Georgetown McDonough’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Since my childhood, I was interested by the fast-growing residential developments in the coastal city where I grew up. That led to my interest in real estate and related issues about real estate financing in my country. They align perfectly with the possibility of earning the MBA Certificate in Global Real Estate at Georgetown University. I’m excited about several initiatives from the Steers Center for Global Real Estate that are designed for MBA students.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Georgetown McDonough? I can’t wait for the opportunity to be involved and create new connections with people in the finance and real estate clubs. I look forward to participating in the career treks to visit representatives of many of the financial corporations in the world. I believe this experience will be so helpful.

Georgetown McDonough programming focuses heavily on instilling a global mindset. Why is exposure to global diversity so critical to business success? A global mindset is valuable externally and internally. Externally, a company lacking a global mindset will be left behind without a global perspective.

The global mindset is also vital internally within the corporate culture. As a B2B project analyst, I used to talk to several clients, and some of them had different and specific needs. Without a corporate global mindset and sufficient diversity within the company, the start-up would be unable to satisfy a client’s suite of demands. In my work, I needed to communicate with coworkers from the marketing, design, and IT departments in order to find an effective solution to provide to the client. The openness to different views, technical abilities, backgrounds, and open talks was essential to our company’s success.

When you think of Georgetown University, what word comes to mind? Why? “Community.”

The common feeling of a community and being part of something bigger is what comes to my mind when I think about Georgetown University. For instance, the Jesuit value of ‘Cura Personalis’ or ‘care of the whole person’ means that the school tries to understand the individual needs of each student, while also treating them as equal human beings. This is a perfect combination because it highlights the acceptance of a diversity of perspectives. Even more, it provides continuous support for students to ensure they feel able to achieve the highest levels of intellectual, emotional, physical, and spiritual values. Regardless of the development phase of each individual, everybody is understood and encouraged to improve and grow.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Coming from a start-up experience, I was involved in critical segments of the business very early. The one that meant most to me and to the company was managing over 10 different clients at the same time during a financial market expansion. All of the clients were hurrying to raise money in the market for their real estate funds. Back then, the company’s B2B sector was just starting to grow and we were having a lot of challenges with the marketing campaigns. Fortunately, I was able to manage all the client’s demands and our sector was able to generate more than 50% of the company’s yearly sales revenue. That was critical to keep operational margins healthy so that the start-up would be able to get more funding from a venture capital fund later. In the next year, the company was successful in raising capital through a strategic venture capital investor and allowed the business to keep going and growing.

What is your long-term career goal? Because of the influence of my grandparents and the city where I grew up, I have an inherent interest in real estate, economics, and finance. The housing conditions I saw in Brazil make me want to better understand how things work and to help me figure out what actions can effectively contribute to a better world for more people. My long-term career goal is to be an impactful leader in the organization I’ll be part of. I want to leave a legacy for the generations ahead by being successful while also helping the world be a better place to live.

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