Our Team

Luiz Prado

16 years of experience

Luiz Prado

Has experience in investment banking, restructuring, private equity and wealth management, Luiz founded Makalu in 2016. Before that, he was CFO of Usinas Itamarati during the restructuring process, member of the board of Monama and Grupo Carlos Lyra. Passionate about sports, he was also a ski instructor in Vail, Colorado.

Bruno Batista

16 years of experience

Bruno Batista

Has experience in company restructuring processes, investment banking, debt structuring and consulting, Bruno was previously a member of the teams at RK Partners, Banco Safra, among others. Throughout his career, he has participated in projects in several industries, with emphasis on engineering, defense, shipbuilding, fertilizers and real estate development.

Victor Mello

9 years of experience

Victor Mello

Graduated with honors in economics from Insper, Victor has been with Makalu since 2018. Prior to that, he had worked at Bradesco BBI and Banco BBM, with experience in ECM, M&A and special situations transactions.

Felipe Ciciarelli

7 years of experience

Felipe Ciciarelli

A lawyer graduated from Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie in 2018, Felipe has been a member of the Makalu team since 2019. Prior to that, he worked for the civil litigation and arbitration team at BMA Advogados. He began his career at the law firm Demarest, in the area of ​​labor litigation.

Thiago Gontad

10 years of experience

Thiago Gontad

Thiago holds a degree in Business Administration from Insper and a Finance specialization from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid. He has 10+ years of experience in finance, infrastructure, real estate, and agribusiness. He spent seven years at Itaú BBA, structuring debt deals in local and global markets. He was CFO at MEZ Energia and Head of Risk at MEZ Comercializadora, leading finance, regulation, and risk for over three years. Since 2025, he has been with Makalu, working in structured finance.

Vanessa Pegas

11 years of experience

Vanessa Pegas

The first woman to join Makalu's team, with us since 2018, Vanessa is responsible for the complete administrative area, events and customer contact. Graduated in Translator and Interpreter and with experience at FGV in Financial Accounting and People Management, Vanessa has worked at Ernst & Young, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Câmara Americana.

Alex Farina

6 years of experience

Alex Farina

Has passages in the investment banking area at Banco Genial and in the Project finance and M&A area at Daemon Investments, Alex has been at Makalu since 2020. He is an engineer, graduated from Escola Politécnica da USP in 2020.

Norberto Campanari

10 years of experience

Norberto Campanari

Has been working in the Financial Market since 2014, having held positions in banks and administrators before joining Makalu. He has experience in administration and control, with a focus on structured funds (FIDC). He holds degrees in Financial Management and Accounting.

Násser Choaib

2 years of experience

Násser Choaib

Graduated in Business Administration from Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV), Násser joined Makalu's team as an intern in 2023. Before that, he gained international academic experience at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and was part of a boutique M&A team.

Fernando Lyra

4 years of experience

Fernando Lyra

Graduated with honors in Business Administration and Economics from Northeastern University, Fernando joined Makalu as an analyst in 2024. He began his career in the Investment Banking team at William Blair, focusing on the transportation, logistics, and commercial services sectors. Prior to that, he gained experience in the Investment Banking team at BTG Pactual and in the Corporate Finance team at Dexco.

Felipe Vilhena

3 years of experience

Felipe Vilhena

A lawyer graduated from Largo São Francisco (USP) and joined Makalu in 2024. Felipe has experience in corporate law, M&A, judicial reorganization, and bankruptcy. Throughout his academic journey, he also gained knowledge and experience in accounting, finance, special situations, and distressed deals.

Arthur Livi

2 years of experience

Arthur Livi

Arthur holds a degree in Business Administration from Insper and joined Makalu in 2024. During his undergraduate studies, he was awarded an academic scholarship to study at the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to joining the team, he gained experience in real estate, venture capital, and corporate finance.

Fernando Carvalho

3 years of experience

Fernando Carvalho

Fernando holds a degree in Economics from Università Bocconi and joined Makalu in 2024. Before that, he worked at Vinland Capital, focusing on European gas market equities, and at Terra Santa Agro in cotton, soybean and corn trading.

Guilherme Barreto

2 years of experience

Guilherme Barreto

Guilherme holds a degree in Actuarial Science from the School of Economics, Business, Accounting and Actuarial Science at the University of São Paulo (FEA-USP). He joined Makalu in 2024, having previously worked at an asset management firm.

Mayra Nascimento

4 years of experience

Mayra Nascimento

Mayra holds a degree in Business Administration and joined Makalu in 2025, contributing over four years of expertise in customer service, client relationship management, and administrative process oversight.

Yasmin Correa

1 year of experience

Yasmin Correa

Pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration at Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV), Yasmin joined the Makalu team as in 2025. Prior to that, she gained experience at Aqua Wealth Management.

Thais Portal

1 year of experience

Thais Portal

Economics student at Insper, ranked first in the university’s admission process. Thaís has a solid background in finance, having coordinated study groups in equity research, private equity/venture capital, and M&A, as well as exposure to areas such as private banking and wealth management. Joined Makalu Partners in 2025, working in special situations and advisory.

Gustavo Guidorizzi

1 year of experience

Gustavo Guidorizzi

An undergraduate student in Production Engineering at Instituto Mauá de Tecnologia, Gustavo joined the Makalu team in 2025. Prior to that, he gained experience in the commercial area at Nomad.

Rua Amauri, 255
11º andar – Itaim Bibi
CEP: 01448-000

makalu@makalupartners.com
+55 11 3181 7101

Newsletter

Linkedin

© 2016 Makalu Partners. All rights reserved.

Developed by Maurício Faccin & Vanessa Pegas