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. Her parents died in a plane crash in 1982 when she was 8 years old, after which she and her brother were raised by their aunt, Maria de Lourdes.
Rise to Success
Ana Lucia's wealth originates from her great-grandfather, Alfredo Egydio de Souza Aranha, who founded Banco Itaú in 1943. Itaú later merged with Unibanco in 2008, forming Itaú Unibanco, the largest bank in Latin America. She is one of the largest individual shareholders of Itausa Investimentos Itau SA, the holding company of Itau Unibanco. Ana Lucia became a shareholder at the age of eight.
Key Business Strategies
While Ana Lucia maintains a significant stake in Itausa, she has also been focused on her philanthropic endeavors. She served as a board member of Itaú Unibanco and currently serves as the vice chairwoman of their board of directors. She has been actively involved in the strategic direction of the family's banking interests, though her focus has shifted towards social impact.
Philanthropy
Ana Lucia is the president of the Alana Institute, a non-profit organization that she co-founded with her brother in 1994. The Alana Institute focuses on promoting children's rights and development. She is also involved with AlanaLab, an organization focused on social impact through investment in businesses. The Alana Institute's initiatives include programs like Criança e Consumo (Child and Consumption), Criativos da Escola (School Creatives), and Criança e Natureza (Child and Nature). Alana also has a philanthropic front, based in the USA, focused on research and technology.
