Global Inclusion & Diversity stories
Leveraging Inclusion and Diversity as core to our DNA

Read Aldemir Cruz's story, a BMS employee

August 20, 2022     

Ilost my father at the age of 13 and was raised by my semi-literate mother and faced many adversities to be able to stay in school. I am grateful for the informal work he did as a shoeshine boy, car watchman, street vendor and office boy. I had to fight the temptation of following tortuous paths, considering the region I lived in, which was Osasco, a municipality of greater São Paulo.

Aldemir Cruz

Aldemir Cruz

The greatest difficulty, however, was the lack of educational and professional guidance. I had to learn a lot of things the hard way before aligning my career and pursuing my goals. I was even rejected for a position as a sales representative in a national pharmaceutical company due to the color of my skin. Despite this, I studied Economic Sciences and joined BMS, where I have been for over 15 years.

I began as an intern, moved up to sales representative and manager, worked in marketing, took a sabbatical to accomplish an exchange program, got a master’s degree in Administration and, for the last two and a half years, I have been a member of the strategy and operations directorate. Today, I can join my educational background in economics, my passion for politics, my master’s degree in the third sector, experience in commercial field work and experience in marketing to contribute to the company's strategy.

"This set of experiences allows me to act in an innovative way so that new products can be launched in the Brazilian market, be sustainable and bring benefits and better quality of life for the Brazilian population."
Aldemir Cruz, Strategy & Business Operations Director, and Immunology BU Leader

This story was excerpted from one written by Angelica Mari and Gabriela Arbex for Forbes Brazil. 

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