Gustavo was born and raised in the cosmopolitan city of Sao Paulo, Brazil.  The youngest of three, he followed in his father’s footsteps and grew up playing soccer.  At the age 7, he played his first soccer tournament and at age 12 he played his first international tournament in La Serena, Chile.  Gustavo is passionate and thankful for how soccer has impacted his life and he shares his experience and vision in his speech, How Soccer Can Change the World. 

Soccer has also contributed to Gustavo’s education.  He graduated with a bachelor of arts in Business Administration from Sacred Heart University where he was on a full soccer scholarship.  At Sacred Heart, Gustavo played at the Division I College level and competed in the Northeast Conference (NEC) for three consecutive years alongside co-founder Raphael Rezende.  In 2006, Gustavo received the Coaches’ Award for his contribution to the team which made the NEC playoffs for the first time in the university’s history.  Gustavo also holds an associate degree in New Media Technology from The City University of New York.  At CUNY, Gustavo was nominated player of the tournament in 2002 and contributed to his team’s championship.

As the co-founder of UNFC, Gustavo is engaged with the local community through soccer programs and as one of the captains of the UNFC soccer team.  Prior to his involvement with UNFC, as a certified coach, Gustavo coached soccer teams for ages ranging from 6 to 17 in New York and Connecticut for four years.

As for his day job, Gustavo is an investor and technology consultant. He currently works at IBM.