Early Life
Ana Lucia de Mattos Barretto Villela was born in São Paulo, Brazil, on October 25, 1973. She is a member of one of Brazil’s oldest banking families. She is the daughter of Alfredo Egydio Arruda Villela and Maria Sílvia de Mattos Barretto. Tragically, her parents died in a plane crash in 1982 when she was only eight years old. Following this loss, she and her brother, Alfredo, were raised by their relatives.
Rise to Success
Ana Lucia's great-grandfather founded the bank Itaú, which merged with Unibanco in 2008 to form Itaú Unibanco. She holds a significant position as one of the largest individual shareholders of Itausa, the holding company of the bank. She began participating on the bank's board at the age of 21. Villela earned a degree in Pedagogy with a specialization in School Administration and a master's degree in Education Psychology from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP). She also studied Business Administration at Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado and completed a postgraduate degree in Administration in the Third Sector at Fundação Getulio Vargas. She was the first female board member of Itau Unibanco.
Key Business Strategies
Ana Lucia is one of the largest individual shareholders of Itausa Investimentos Itau SA, the holding company that controls Itau Unibanco, the largest bank in the southern hemisphere. Itausa also has interests in real estate and other industries. She has shown a strong commitment to her family's businesses and has been involved in the strategic decisions of the companies.
Philanthropy
Ana Lucia is also known for her commitment to philanthropy and social causes, particularly through her work at the Alana Institute. She co-founded the Alana Institute with her brother, Alfredo, in 1994. The Alana Institute focuses on promoting children's rights and integral development. In 2012, she co-founded the Alana Foundation. In 2019, she and her husband co-founded the Alana Down Syndrome Center with a donation of $28.6 million to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for research on Down syndrome.
