Silvia De Freitas

I would say discipline is the foundation of my success. I'm a very disciplined person - I do what it takes and have the capability to wait and be patient, understanding that everything has its timing. I've developed emotional resilience, knowing when I need to be strong and hold on through difficult moments. I always tell my husband and daughters that I have this vision of the person I want to be, and I've always had it. I'm always working towards becoming that person every day, and I'm not there yet. That vision encompasses everything from the way I dress, to the way I walk, to the way I talk, to the way I work, to the way I treat my husband, my daughters, my family, and even strangers, and how I make people feel. Back to the discipline - I have the discipline to go the extra mile and do things even when I don't feel like doing them, because they help me build that person I want to be.

I would say you're gonna have doubts. You're not always going to feel 100% sure this is the right way to do things, because there's no one right way to do things. Everything has pros and cons. As long as you take a moment to understand what those pros and cons are and process them, you will be empowered to make a decision and to push that decision forward with its cons, because everything is going to have its cons. But it's very better to do it than become paralyzed by the fear of not making the right decision. This is a phrase I always say, it's one of my life mottos: every dream becomes reality one decision at a time. Dreams are built on decisions, so you do need to make them, even if they're hard.

As an opportunity, I see more and more women participation in tech, which 10 or 15 years ago was almost non-existent or very low. You would be surprised how difficult it was to find women in managerial positions and leadership in tech, which had been a male-dominated industry for many years. I do see women taking a more protagonistic role, and something I discuss with my team all the time is that every year we have more and more women participation. We've come to a point where we sometimes see in some of our teams more women than men leading areas and taking leadership positions. I think that's something we need to continue fostering, and I see it as an opportunity for the newer generations to live in a more equal world and have these beautiful opportunities to shine. I also see companies taking a more flexible approach and providing more generous policies in terms of pregnancy leaves and maternity leaves, which is a key component because there's a reality - even when we have partners who are very present, women go through physical processes that men do not go through necessarily in terms of pregnancy, delivery, and the postpartum period. That support in those stages helps pave the way for women to be able to succeed even if they're continuing their personal life. I'm excited in that sense for the world my daughters are going to join. In terms of challenges, one of the main challenges I have had to face has been my whole immigration story and how hard it is not only to start over in a new society, new language, new place, new everything, but also the process of staying within legal boundaries. For me, it has been years of work visas, always trying to make things right but also with a lot of uncertainty, having to make everyday decisions without knowing if you're gonna be here tomorrow or not. That ends up having an impact on things like should I have kids or not, should I work towards having my own house or not - every decision you take is conditioned to that process. The immigration system in the States needs transformation, and it's something that no matter which political side you're on, it's a reality. It has been very painful to live as an immigrant, very challenging, and I do see it as something that can be challenging for other immigrant women who are coming to the States trying to pursue their dreams and materialize them, having not only the pressure of thriving in their professional and personal life but also undergoing the pressures of immigration per se.

Honesty is first and foremost the most important value to me. Discipline is also critical - not only do I consider myself a very disciplined person, but I appreciate disciplined people because I understand the level of sacrifice that is behind it. I seek working with people who are also disciplined and relationships with people who have that discipline. Vision is another key value for me. Something I always tell my friends and family is that you can live better and work better when you have the ability to think ahead and to anticipate - how am I going to feel if I do this? How am I going to live? How's my day gonna be? If I want to move to a city, for example, how's life in that city? Research about it, put your mindset into I'm already there. What could be the challenges? What could be the benefits? Same thing with everything, every decision you're making in life - try to think ahead. That vision empowers you to take decisions today that can help you in the future. That vision also helps you shape things and skills and traits that you're gonna need later on. I'm very passionate about living the everyday and enjoying life because it's only one, but I'm also always thinking ahead, and I think that's an important value for my family, for my kids, for everyone.