The difference that makes all the difference
In 2007, Corrado Varoli, an Italian Canadian investment banker with over 20 years of experience at that time, having served as Head of some of the main Wall Street banks in Latin America, announced his decision to move to São Paulo and establish his own financial advisory firm: G5 Partners. Corrado had close relationships with some of the main companies and family groups in Brazil arising from his many years of local experience in mergers, acquisitions and financial restructuring transactions. Even so, the news of his move to Brazil to operate independently generated lots of interest in the local financial community and reinforced the perception that Brazil would finally become one of the most dynamic and attractive financial markets in the world.
However, the biggest surprise came with Corrado’s choice of partners for his undertaking: Renato Klarnet and Marcelo Lajchter. In a market still accustomed to single-product financial advisory boutiques and ultra-specialized asset managers, one would expect that Corrado would build a team with other investment bankers who, like him, were specialists in mergers and acquisitions. But that wasn’t what he had in mind. Corrado envisioned something different for G5 and he was very careful in choosing his future partners. Renato Klarnet, with a degree in Economics from PUC Rio de Janeiro, had 15 years of experience when G5 was founded, including experience in working in New York as Head of the equity income desks of banks such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. Renato had worked with Corrado at both of these banks, who identified in him a rare combination of technical excellence, sound business sense and people skills.
Marcelo Lajchter, with a degree in Law from Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, had worked for several years as a partner at Barbosa, Müssnich & Aragão, one of the prominent law firms in Brazil, specialized in corporate law. There, this fervent Rio de Janeiro native with an extroverted personality had developed a solid reputation working in complex financial restructuring transactions, often in partnership with Varoli’s Goldman Sachs. However, the association between a white-shoe-banker engineer, an economist specialized in capital markets, and a lawyer with a vocation for rescuing entrepreneurs from shipwreck would only begin to make sense for the market when Corrado, Renato and Marcelo began to execute the strategy envisioned for G5 Partners. The first step they took was to attract new talents to the team. Once again, the logic was to strengthen G5 by attracting people with skills and professional experiences that would complement the skills of the founding partners. The only common ground requirement was to have the same values and ethical work principles advocated by them.
Even today, “differences” are not only valued at G5, but, above all, maximized. To a large extent, this is the firm’s biggest competitive advantage. And that’s how G5 welcomed Francisco Gros, with vast experience in the domestic public and private sectors, and André Benchimol, a specialist in wealth management with extensive experience in serving Brazilian family groups, to complete G5’s corporate mosaic, or its “Group of 5”. Unlike financial boutiques that use a single-product strategy, G5’s purpose is to be prepared to address all of its clients’ priorities, whether they are entrepreneurs, executives, board members, investors, or family leaders. To achieve this, all of the firm’s professionals are encouraged to go beyond their areas of expertise, constantly seeking to develop knowledge on other matters of relevant interest.
Furthermore, the fact that G5 Partners operates completely independently allows it to adopt a work approach that is free from conflicts of interest inherent in large and diversified banking institutions. The firm’s golden rule remains the same since its foundation: any new relationship begins by seeking to identify the priority or immediate concern that our client needs to address. At G5, the work agenda is defined by the client and not the convenience of the advisor. From that point, dedication, skills and commitment to the client’s success conspire in a virtuous cycle to perpetuate and grow each relationship.
G5 Partners currently has a team of over 80 “multiskilled” professionals serving in an increasingly diverse client universe, including local and multinational companies, as well as family-controlled companies and investors in general. G5 has been recognized for successfully executing the most varied and complex transactions, always aligned with its clients’ best interests.
After 16 years since Varoli, Lajchter and Klarnet decided to undertake and establish G5 Partners, the firm has grown and diversified. This growth, particularly in the M&A and financial restructuring advisory business, has led the firm to consolidate itself as the leading independent advisor in the Brazilian market over the last four years. Whether through its work in executing mergers, acquisitions and financial restructurings, or preparing companies for IPOs, structuring innovative financial products, and managing more than R$35 billion in third-party resources, G5 is currently the most complete, admired and respected independent financial services boutique in Brazil. As you can see, the culture of valuing differences has made all the difference.
And this is just the beginning.
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