Arthur Fioravante Chiba
Consultant · Facilitator · Author
I help leaders and teams work well across cultures, borders, and languages.
About
What I am really interested in is human nature. Following that curiosity has taken me to more than a hundred countries and through seven industries, from government and humanitarian aid to financial services and technology. In my twenties, friends called me a professional career changer, and before long the group's unofficial career coach.
I am a consultant, facilitator, and writer based in São Paulo. For most of the last 15+ years I have worked where cultures meet: as Global Chief Operating Officer of AIESEC across 120 countries, then in Amsterdam as a director at SkillLab, and now independently, helping companies enter new markets and helping their leaders run teams that span time zones and first languages.
I hold an MBA from INSEAD and a degree in International Relations from USP, and I teach as a guest professor at FEA-USP. I am an experienced facilitator, trained in Theory U, and I have designed and led more than twenty strategic retreats in 10+ countries. I work in Portuguese, English, and Spanish, and get by in French and Italian.
I also write. O Japonês de Osasco ("The Japanese Guy from Osasco") is part travel memoir, part autobiography, part poetry. I wrote it for the university students who kept asking me the same question: how do you build a career that gives you an international life?
For organizations
How I work with companies:
Facilitation, training & learning
I design and run learning experiences for teams that work across borders: everything from team building and feedback sessions to strategy retreats and training programs, including recent work on the responsible use of AI. More than twenty of them so far, in 10+ countries. The work draws on Theory U and adapts to what the group needs, from a single intensive session to a multi-day offsite.
Fractional executive
I step into a senior role for a defined period when a company is scaling or entering a new market and wants an operator who has done it before. I work across three areas that travel together: people and organization; market expansion and internationalization; and implementation and customer success. The common thread is people, whether they are your staff or your clients.
ESG & social impact
Talent and employability have been the thread through my whole career, the "S" in ESG. Most recently, as Director of Impact at SkillLab, I owned the theory of change and impact measurement and helped the company earn its B Corp certification. I help mission-driven organizations measure the change they actually create, and get ready for standards like B Corp.
For individuals
Mentoring for new managers and career changers
One-to-one sessions for two kinds of people: new managers who have just taken on a team that spans countries and cultures, and professionals rethinking the shape of their career, especially those who want an international one. One-to-one, practical, and confidential.
Writing & speaking
O Japonês de Osasco
A travel memoir told through ninety countries, each with its own poem. Available on Amazon and Uiclap. An English edition is on the way.
Speaking & teaching
Guest professor at FEA-USP. I have spoken at UNESCO, Amazon, the YMCA, FGV, and international development forums on culture, leadership, and international careers.
Poetry, writing & travels
Writing in several languages is my creative outlet, and a second collection is on the way.
Contact
What are you working on?
I read everything that comes through here and reply within a few days.