Press Releases
From Podium to Platform
From Podium to Platform
On the eve of the Tokyo Games, Henrique Barbosa reflects how his career as an Olympic swimmer for Brazil helped him dive into the world of Low-Code / No-Code as Genesis VP of Americas.
As part of their hiring strategy, Genesis likes to look beyond the usual pool of tech talent. Henrique Barbosa – our VP America, based out of Miami – is a shining example of this. Before he joined the team, Henrique had represented Brazil at two Olympic Games and in 2009 came within hundreds of a second of breaking the world records for the 100m and 200m breaststroke.
“You have to confront disappointment and stay focused, stay disciplined and not give up.”
– Henrique Barbosa
“The Olympics is an experience you never forget,” says Henrique. “And with the Tokyo Games finally happening, I remember a lot of special moments.”
Perhaps Henrique’s most formative moment as an athlete and a person was missing out on qualifying – again by a few hundreds of a second – for the Athens Olympics in 2004, when he was 20. “But you have to confront disappointment and stay focused, stay disciplined and not give up.”
His determination paid off. Henrique is a world championship and Pan-American Games medallist and still holds the South American record for the 200m breaststroke.
It was this strength of character that Stephen Murphy, co-founder and CEO of Genesis, saw when he met Henrique in São Paulo in 2011. By that time, Henrique had competed for his country in the Beijing Olympics and was about to represent Brazil at the unforgettable London Games.
“They invited me to join them in their Genesis adventure. I gave them my drive and determination, and they gave me their trust.”
– Henrique Barbosa
“Stephen and I stayed friends over the years, meeting again in Barcelona where he introduced me to James Harrison (Genesis co-founder and CTO).”
Henrique has a degree in international business from Berkeley yet what appealed to both Stephen and James, who had just founded Genesis, was his story – and the qualities of resilience and purpose that shone through.
“They invited me to join them in their Genesis adventure. I gave them my drive and determination, and they gave me their trust.”
After barely a year at Genesis, Stephen and Henrique travelled to São Paulo to give a key presentation to the Brazilian financial giant Itaú. “At the last minute, Stephen said: ‘You do it.’ I hesitated, but Stephen reassured me I’d be fine. There were 250 people in the audience, waiting for me to give my first presentation.”
It was sink or swim.
Fortunately, Henrique was one of the greatest swimmers of his generation! His performance at Genesis, where he increased sales of the US entity from a standing start to $2.5m, is medal-winning. We are lucky to have him compete as a member of our team.