FCA is a highly specialised

business consulting provider

About FCA Strategylogo

FCA Strategy, a Canadian company, is a subsidiary of the Brazilian company Esfera Business Management & Investments and is based in Vancouver, BC, Canada. The focus of FCA Strategy is to expand its highly specialized business consultancy operations in the Canadian market. Additionally, FCA has an exclusive contract with INVENT Strategic Knowledge, a Brazilian company that specializes in leadership development and executive education, as well as one with Cypress Associates a Brazilian company with expertise in M&A. Through the powerful combination of this experience and expertise, FCA Strategy offers premium services to support Canadian companies in addressing their business and leadership challenges, as well as advises Brazilian companies that want to expand business in the Canadian market and worldwide.


FCA Vision

To be recognized as one of the most innovative and visionary providers of Canadian business consultancy services and leadership development for executives to support our clients in achieving even higher levels of competitiveness and results.

FCA Strategy is a highly specialized business consultancy provider that works with companies on strategic business development, key areas of management, and developing senior executives.


FCA’s Value Proposition

Focus on envisioning long-term strategic scenarios, markets, innovation, and business opportunities for client companies given a 3-5-10-year frame;

While mastering the balancing act of world-class business expertise, solid academic knowledge and executive experience in business management;

To develop a unique business value proposition of innovative solutions to address the key challenges that are facing our clients’ executive leaders.

INVENT Strategic Knowledge is a company that specializes in executive education and training programs and was founded in 2007 by Adriano Amui in São Paulo, Brazil.

INVENT provides a variety of business educational services, promotes workshops, offers courses and training programs to both in-company or open to the general public, and organizes Executive development programs in Brazil and worldwide.

INVENT offers many educational and training programs, and its projects for the agribusiness industry are recognized globally as best-in-class. For example, one project is developed in Canada in partnership with the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University in Montreal. More than 150 Brazilian executives and entrepreneurs have participated in this program since the original launch in 2014.

Go to Invent's website

Esfera Business Management & Investments is a Brazilian company founded in May 2004 by Adriano Amui in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and is a highly specialized consulting firm that assists clients worldwide.

At first, Esfera's service portfolio included consultancy services in the fields of sales, trade marketing and marketing. Due to the exponential growth of the business, Esfera's clients requested additional consulting services in the areas of strategic planning, new ventures and start-ups, design thinking, leadership development, innovation, and supply chain. As a result of these successful experiences, Esfera now offers a full range of business consultancy services, including specialized projects in strategic and leadership development for executives, executive coaching and mentoring. In addition, Adriano Amui has been invited to join and now serves as a director on several Boards of Directors.

Esfera’s main focus is to generate consistent results for its clients by combining strategic effectiveness and operational efficiency. Esfera is currently recognized as a visionary company in terms of identifying management trends, and a company that can be a driver for differentiation in the competitive corporate market. Esfera has earned its reputation for its profound knowledge of the Brazilian market and is recognized as a highly qualified business partner for international organizations interested in operating in this complex and competitive market. The company provides security, proper risk management, and best practices in terms of compliance and ethics.

Go to Esferas's website

Cypress Associates is one of Brazil´s leading independent financial advisory firms. Cypress specializes in mergers & acquisitions (M&A), capital markets and structured finance for large and medium-sized companies. Cypress, since its inception in 2004, develops projects based on a thorough understanding of the context and specific strategy of each company and investor, sound business rationale and constant attention to the creation of shareholder value.

Cypress has executed more than 60 deals, comprehending more than CAD$2.2 billion, in both Brazil and international markets in a wide variety of business sectors, including retail, consumer goods, electronics, real estate, construction, IT, education, mining, healthcare, steel and metallurgy and telecommunications. Cypress Associates is uniquely positioned to support Canadian companies intending to merge or acquire Brazilian companies.

Cypress is the only Brazilian member of M&A Worldwide, a global network of more than 40 financial advisory firms in over 42 countries, that has the objective of expanding the breadth and depth of their activities worldwide.

Go to Cypress's website

FCA Service’s Portfolio

Why FCA is establishing a business in Canada

Canada is one of the most prosperous economies and best places to live in the world. The country has a track record of providing economic opportunity for their citizens and for countless immigrants establishing a new life for themselves and their families. Diversity has led to problems elsewhere, but it is a source of strength in Canada.

Having said that, Canada can do better. The country runs the risk of being left behind over the long term as developing economies catch up with the developed world. In the not-too distant future, countries like Brazil, India, or China could be the driving force behind advances in innovation, design, styles and living standards.


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Why FCA is establishing a business in Canada?

Canada is one of the most prosperous economies and best places to live in the world, according to several different studies and publications.  Canada has a track record of providing economic opportunity for its citizens and for countless immigrants establishing a new life for themselves and their families. Diversity has led to problems in many other countries and regions in the world, but diversity is seen as a source of strength in Canada. Having said that, Canada can do better. There are immense and profitable business opportunities for Canadian companies to be even better by increasing productivity, becoming more agile and truly more international. Unfortunately, Canada runs the risk of being left behind over the long term as developing economies catch up with the developed world. In the not-too-distant future, countries including Brazil, India, or China may become the driving force behind advances in innovation, design and living standards. The Canadian economy is underperforming because productivity is lower in Canada than it is in the United States as well as Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, according to authors Roger Martin and James Milway. In his book, “The Age of Diminished Expectations”, Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman (2007) expressed the importance of productivity well: "Productivity isn't everything, but in the long run it is almost everything. A country's ability to improve its standard of living over time depends almost entirely on its ability to raise its output per worker." According to Roger Martin & James Milway, in their 2012 book “Canada: What it Is, What it Can Be”, some of the key factors contributing to the gap in Canadian productivity are:
  • Lower levels of education versus the U.S., especially among managers
  • Lower rates of investment in technology and research and development (R&D)
  • Lack of competitive pressure to encourage more strategies of innovation from Canadian companies
In terms of international trade, according to Derek H. Burney & Fen Osler Hampson, in their book “Brave New Canada” (2014), there is an opportunity to be captured by Canadian companies and entrepreneurs:
  1. Emerging economies will account for more than half of the world's production and consumption of goods and services
  2. Canadian firms have made little progress in penetrating the new markets of emerging economies while losing market share in traditional ones
  3. Less than 8% of Canadian firms export and only 4% of outward investment go to these emerging markets.
Potential solutions to address this productivity gap that could be taken by Canada and Canadian companies include the following: (please note that areas of Canadian federal/provincial responsibility are not covered)
  • Whereas plentiful resources like forests and mines were once critical to Canada's success, the countries' future prosperity will depend more on the ability to innovate products, services, and processes
  • Increase the investments in education, since workers' and managers' skills will be a defining element of success
  • Strengthen management talent. Increase Canadian management capabilities
  • Be bold and creative in teaching innovation skills to Canadian companies, their executives and employees, as well to Canadian youth
  • Increase international trade
For all the above reasons, FCA is uniquely positioned to greatly benefit the Canadian market by empowering corporations, executives and entrepreneurs to overcome the productivity gap.

FCA Team 

Adriano Amui

Business Strategist – Entrepreneur – Consultant – Speaker – Author – Board Member – Founder of FCA Strategy in Canada, and Esfera Management, INVENT Strategic Knowledge, Deep Seed Solutions and Portal dos Livreiros, in Brazil – Senior Advisor in the M&A industry for Cypress Associates in Brazil – Professor at FDC Business School and ESPM Business School in Brazil, and Instructor of executive education at SFU Beedie School of Business in Canada, Member of SFU Beedie School Executive Education’s Advisory Committee and SFU Beedie School Exec Ed “Innovation & Entrepreneurship Platform” Steering Committee.


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Adriano Amui

CEO

Katherine Johnston

Strategic HR advisor – Consultant – Leadership development expert – Author – Executive Coach – Speaker – Executive education – Founder of Global Mindz (Norway) – Founder of GM Leadership & Coaching (Canada) – Partner in Scandinavian Leadership Consulting (Scandinavia) – Senior Associate in FCA Strategy (Canada)


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Katherine Johnston

Senior Associate

Adriano Amui

Business Strategist – Entrepreneur –  Consultant – Speaker – Author – Board Member - Founder of FCA Strategy in Canada, and Esfera Management, INVENT Strategic Knowledge, Deep Seed Solutions and Portal dos Livreiros, in Brazil –  Senior Advisor in the M&A industry for Cypress Associates in Brazil - Professor at FDC Business School and ESPM Business School in Brazil, and Instructor of executive education at SFU Beedie School of Business in Canada, Member of SFU Beedie School Executive Education’s Advisory Committee and SFU Beedie School Exec Ed “Innovation & Entrepreneurship Platform” Steering Committee.

Adriano is a Strategic Marketing Professor in the EMBA Program at Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC). FDC is Brazil’s leading business school, named as the best business school in Latin America for 13 consecutive years and is ranked #12 globally. Adriano is a Professor of Marketing and teaches Trade Marketing, Go-to-Market Strategies and Key Account Management at ESPM Brazil (another leading business school in South America in the area of marketing). He provides lectures, courses, workshops and a range of executive education training and development programs around the world on topics such as Strategic Planning, New Business Models, Entrepreneurship, Go-To-Market Strategies, New Venture Creation, Marketing, Design Thinking, Innovation and Trend Analysis, Competitive Strategy, among others.

Adriano has over 25 years of both executive and academic experience. He has built a solid career and track record working for international companies operating in different industries. A serial entrepreneur, Adriano has founded several companies, such as INVENT- Strategic Knowledge and Esfera Business Management, two businesses focused on executive education and business consulting, Deep Seed Solutions, a technology-based company supporting the digital revolution in the Oil & Gas Industry and FCA Strategy in Canada. He is a Board Advisor to the boards of various organizations in Brazil in the digital transformation and construction sectors, as well as a mentor for executives and entrepreneurs. Adriano is a Senior Advisor in the M&A industry for Cypress Associates in Brazil.

Adriano Amui contributes to society by giving pro-bono lectures for a variety of non-profit community events, and by supporting STEM education for youth. Additionally, he is a mentor for the West Vancouver Robotics Academy (Ten Ten Robotics).

Despite a busy travel schedule with teaching, consulting, training projects, and businesses that regularly take him around the world, Adriano chose to move his family to Canada, and has lived with his wife and their two sons in West Vancouver, BC, since 2015.

Katherine Johnston

Strategic HR advisor – Consultant – Leadership development expert – Author – Executive Coach – Speaker – Executive education – Founder of Global Mindz (Norway) – Founder of GM Leadership & Coaching (Canada) – Partner in Scandinavian Leadership Consulting (Scandinavia) – Senior Associate in FCA Strategy (Canada).

Katherine Johnston has worked in more than 50 countries as a leader, consultant, executive coach & author in cross-cultural and global contexts. She is passionate about working with leaders around the world to bring out the best in themselves and others they lead, as they make their professional & personal journeys.  

Katherine currently delivers leadership development, executive coaching, and global mindset programs for mid- and senior-level managers in Scandinavia, Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia and N. America. An experienced coach during the last 15 years, she currently has coaching clients in 10+ countries and is accredited by the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

Her multinational clients include Wilh. Wilhelmsen, Pronova BioPharma (now part of BASF), DNV GL, FK Norway (Norwegian Peace Corps), Merck, RasGas (Qatar), FMC Technologies, Statkraft, MCI, BlueShore Financial, Teck Resources and the Vancouver Aquarium.

She has an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management that is currently ranked #1 for Masters in Management program (previously MBA) by Times Higher Education and WSJ in 2019. Thunderbird is now an acquired and  highly valued Knowledge Enterprise of Arizona State University (ASU) which is currently ranked #1 in Innovation (ahead of Stanford, Harvard and MIT).

Katherine is a member of the Thunderbird Educator Network and delivers executive education programs for the Thunderbird School of Global Management in Europe and the Middle East.   Katherine also gives guest lectures for the Executive MBA programs and International MBA programs at BI – Norwegian Business School.

She is a co-author of the Norwegian book “Boss eller Buddy: Balansegang for dagens ledere” (Boss or Buddy: Balancing Act for Today’s Leaders), currently in its 3rd printing, and contributor to “Developing Your Global Mindset: The Handbook for Successful Global Leaders”.

Katherine´s MBA specialization in Global Leadership and International Trade Strategy over 20 years ago serves her well in her current consultant and advisor role and provides her with a broad and inspiring global network. Her clients represent many industries, including energy, offshore, maritime, financial services, biotech, IT, life sciences, agricultural, academic, non-profit and government.

Katherine has expertise in designing, conceptualizing and delivering leadership programs and facilitating strategy workshops. She builds on her many years of practical experience as a leader around the world for The Coca-Company Company and Up With People to create relevant and shared learning programs. Clients may select from existing modules or choose to have a tailor-made program customized for own organization.

Katherine uses her own experience as a leader to better relate to diverse backgrounds of executive and mid-level leaders in leadership development programs.  She offers executive coaching and leadership development, building on the success of her companies in Norway. The wonders of technology allow her to maintain valued client relationships in Norway and continue to work with leaders globally as she builds her latest business venture in Vancouver.

After living 17 years in Norway, Katherine, her Norwegian husband and their 2 sons now reside in West Vancouver, Canada. Most of her spare time is spent cheering for her sons´ on the soccer (football) pitch.

Katherine Johnston

Adriano Amui is a member of Executive Education’s Advisory Committee at SFU Beedie School of Business (Canada), and is also an instructor for Executive Education. Adriano is a Strategic Marketing Professor in the EMBA Program at Fundação Dom Cabral (FDC, which is Brazil’s leading Business School, and has been named the best business school in Latin America for 13 consecutive years and is ranked #12 globally). Adriano is Professor of Marketing, teaching Trade Marketing, Go-to-Market Strategies and Key Account Management at ESPM Brazil (another leading business school in South America in the area of marketing). He provides lectures, courses, workshops and a range of executive education training and development programs around the world on topics such as Strategic Planning, New Business Models, Entrepreneurship, Go-To-Market Strategies, New Venture Creation, Marketing, Design Thinking, Innovation and Trend Analysis, Competitive Strategy, among others. Adriano has over 25 years of both executive and academic experience. He has built a solid career and track record working for international companies operating in different industries. A serial entrepreneur, Adriano has founded several companies, such as INVENT- Strategic Knowledge and Esfera Business Management, two businesses focused on executive education and business consulting, Deep Seed Solutions, a technology-based company supporting the digital revolution in the Oil & Gas Industry, in Brazil, and FCA Strategy, in Canada. He is a Board Advisor to the boards of various organizations in Brazil in the Digital Transformation and Construction sectors, as well as an Executive and Entrepreneur Mentor. On M&A industry Adriano is a Senior Advisor for Cypress Associates, in Brazil. Adriano Amui contributes to society by giving pro-bono lectures for a variety of nonprofit community events, and by supporting STEM education for youth. Additionally, he is mentor for the West Vancouver Robotics Academy (Ten Ten Robotics). Despite a busy travel schedule with teaching, consulting, training projects, and businesses that regularly takes him around the world, Adriano chose to move his family to Canada, and has lived with his wife and their two sons in West Vancouver, BC, since 2015.

Key Segments & Clients

In Brazil, Esfera and its partner INVENT proudly serve clients that include Abbott, Ajinomoto, AMGEN, Bayer CropScience, Bayer Pharma, BNP Paribas, Cardif Insurance, Bridgestone / Firestone, Citibank, Danone, Inter Bank, Johnson & Johnson, LG, Lundbeck, Merck, Mobil, Shell, Syngenta, Unilever, Vale, Votorantim Cement, Votorantim Bank, amongst many others.

Both Esfera and INVENT have very solid client portfolios within the areas of agribusiness, automotive, co-ops, pharmaceutical, FMCG, insurance, financial institutions, services, technology, energy, telecom, mining, construction, cement and more.

Now, through FCA’s operations in Canada, we are ready to offer the same level of services that allowed us to achieve a high degree of performance recognition among our clients in Brazil.

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