It’s not fame or fortune that inspires Avanade’s Adriano Neves. It’s a passion for learning, for trying new things, develop relationships, stretching into unknown territory.

That drive started early when Adriano started a company while he was still at university. He is beginning his newest adventure this month when he leads Avanade’s expansion into the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

From Brazil to the UAE

Moving halfway around the world did not faze Adriano, who is a native of Brazil and has studied in Brazil, Canada and the U.S. He and his family are already settling in, and his young granddaughter is determined to visit as soon as her schooling and travel restrictions allow.

True to his enjoyment of new challenges, Adriano is learning to play the derbake, an Arabic percussion instrument. He’s also very quickly adapted to a work week that now starts from Sunday to Thursday, while the weekends are Friday and Saturday.

Now that he is on the ground in Dubai, Adriano is excited and really looking forward to exploring the sights, sounds and food that Dubai and other cities in the United Arab Emirates have to offer. He finds himself mesmerized by the architecture in Dubai – a harmonious blend of Arabic heritage designs in their historic buildings that are filled with rich stories, complementing sleek, futuristic lines you’d see in their modern-day skyscrapers.

The secret to building a high-growth team and business

Adriano says he has found a way to stretch his entrepreneurial muscles within an innovative and growing company. For example, he was one of Avanade’s first employees in Brazil, partnering with Accenture and Microsoft to establish Avanade’s business and market presence in what is today one of the company’s fastest-growing markets globally. His first-hand experience in building a sustainable, multi-disciplinary business will prove to be invaluable to his current role in the UAE.

When asked about his leadership style, Adriano describes himself as someone who always works with high standards of integrity and makes decisions based on principles and values rather than short-term expedience. Aligned with these principles, he embraces a culture of long-term relationships with his team, clients and partners.

He firmly believes that leaders need to create an inclusive, transparent workplace. One that is based on a strong, shared sense of purpose, a cohesive organizational culture, and open communication where people can feel completely comfortable sharing information with one another.

Adriano describes one of his strengths as helping people get better at collaborating with one another – ultimately working as one integrated team. He said that people who thrive at Avanade are motivated, interested in learning, want to be the best at what they do, and believe in making a genuine human impact in everything they do.

Exciting journey ahead in the UAE

Throughout his career at the forefront of technology, from the development of the intranet to today’s groundbreaking cloud innovations, Adriano has sought out opportunities to learn more – and then put what he has learned to work for people, whether as a sales leader in Avanade’s growing Brazil business or meeting with clients around the world to demonstrate how they can benefit from what he and his teams can do. Adriano will be building on Microsoft and Accenture’s success in the UAE as he develops his team and grows Avanade’s presence in the region.

“We consider it an honor to now be able to bring our ability to solve complex business problems to the UAE,” says Adriano. “The UAE is one of the largest economies in Middle East and one of the most open economies worldwide. It is a thriving hub and location for global businesses. Against this backdrop, we believe there’s a significant opportunity to bring our expertise to industries such as citizen services, oil and gas and financial services. We believe we can help organizations in the region reimagine experiences for their employees and customers, supply chain and operations, and even explore new business models.”

“By offering unparalleled Microsoft expertise, global reach and the power of our partnership with Accenture and Microsoft, we can help our clients in the UAE realize successful business outcomes on the Microsoft platform, provide careers and opportunities for our growing UAE team and, through our commitment to responsible business practices, help our communities prosper,” he adds.

To fuel the company’s ambitious growth around the world, Avanade has roles available for digital, IT and consulting specialists who have a passion for Microsoft platform technologies. Interested? Check out open roles here: https://www.avanade.com/en/career.