Laércio Cosentino showed all the signs of becoming the typical enterpriser who would never give up control of his company. Known for his centralizing ways and with a whiz kid background, he began to build what is now Totvs at the age of 22, when he proposed a partnership to his former boss. He singlehandedly funded some daring bets, starting with his focus on the then-emerging personal computing area and going on to set up an unprecedented software distribution franchising model and the acquisition of competing companies. Against all odds, he transformed tiny Microsiga into a competitive Brazilian company relative to international giants of the trade, such as SAP and Oracle.

As soon as the capital market emerged as an option to finance the company’s speedy expansion process, Cosentino did not think twice: in the first introductory event to the Novo Mercado, back in 2000, he stood out as one of the few business owners willing to promptly adhere to Bovespa’s initiative. “I understood that that was the future”, he sums up.

One should remember that, at the time, the large majority considered the New Market impracticable. But Cosentino was already used to facing others’ distrust for innovation. Given the choice between audacity and the title of “owner”, he chose the former. His opening of capital, whose road show was being scheduled at the same moment when the twin towers of the World Trade Center fell to the ground, ended up being postponed. It would only take place in 2006, during the first wave that would mark the resumption of initial public offerings (IPOs). Adaptation to the rules of corporate governance was easy, assesses Cosentino, attributing the fact to the 1999 entry of private equity fund Advent into Microsiga’s capital.

“With the financial partner’s entry, I already felt like I was selling the company”, says Cosentino calmly, without revealing any trace of conflict regarding the decision to share his power. Behind such selflessness is the pragmatism that permeates the thinking of the executive, who is currently president of a spread out capital company with annual earnings of R$ 780 million and 9,000 employees – including the almost 4,000 left over from Datasul, acquired in August. Known in the workplace as a sober person – both as regards ethics and his unsmiling demeanor –, Cosentino usually imposes his leadership more through intelligence than charisma. “I am open to a new idea, as long as it’s shown to be better than mine”, he states. “This challenges others to better elaborate their arguments.”

Getting ahead of Cosentino’s quick thinking is what’s hard. Ever since he was young, the shy, attentive boy achieved straight As in every subject. Up to the present day, he considers introspection to be a virtue. “The more you talk, the less you think”, he affirms. At age 17, already attending the electric engineering course at the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo (USP), Cosentino secured an internship at a small computing company, Siga, and launched a meteoric career: intern, programmer, analyst, manager, director, and partner, in only five years. “While still an intern, I saw a series of opportunities go to waste. When I proposed the creation of Microsiga to Ernesto (Ernesto Haberkorn, former owner of Siga), I just asked him to let me handle things and show that I was right.”

The string of acquisitions was initiated in 2005, with the purchase of Logocenter. It was in that year that Cosentino faced the challenge of creating a new business brand which would become an umbrella for the acquired companies’ products. “The example was AmBev”, he says. As usual, he forewent consultancies and began to pursue an appropriate name. In a report about the death of Pope John Paul II, he read a sonorous word, filled with symbolism, in a phrase in Latin: totvs, which means all or totality, and is pronounced “totus”. “It was Sunday, and I went running to check on the internet if the brand was registered somewhere”, he tells.

It is at moments like these, when ideas arise and transform into reality, that the 48-year-old executive feels most fulfilled. If he can propagate this enthusiasm to the “participants”, as employees are called at Totvs, even better. “Since the start of Microsiga, in the 1980s, it was clear that a Brazilian technology company would only be feasible with people who truly believed in it”, affirms Cosentino. Such faith ended up leading the company to be acknowledged, outside the technology industry, for its constant presence in rankings of best places to work. With the acquisitions and new employees, the challenge of motivation increased, he admits.

But whoever imagines that the executive welcomes “participants” with the promise of a calm, benefit-filled future would be wrong. On the contrary, the discourse is direct and transparent: “They need to know that they now work at a diffuse capital company, with a commitment to its shareholders. Such a company is expected to grow, have a profit margin, and be a consolidator. If that doesn’t happen, someone will come along and consolidate you”. At a time of mergers and acquisitions in the capital market, Cosentino’s pragmatism could not be more appropriate.

Secret of success – Being observant, understanding people, realizing first and then demanding the result that was delivered afterwards. A passion – Entrepreneurship. A guru – “There was never a single guru, but rather an inspiration built from a set of companies and people with which I was in contact.” Addiction – Challenging yourself and challenging the people around you. Healthcare – Some exercise. “When you keep your mind busy, there’s no such thing as panic attacks, depression, none of those modern-day diseases.” To relax – He can “tune out” completely and separate his moments as an individual and as a company. “When it’s time for leisure, it’s like I don’t have an executive career. I can split up my mind as if it had partitions (divisions of a hard drive).” Biological clock – He wakes up early and well-disposed. Hobby – Cooking and driving. “But not in São Paulo traffic.” Technology is good because... – It is managing to connect everybody and provide easy access to information. Technology is bad because... – People don’t give themselves time to interpret the information and mature their decisions. “They end up acting like little robots.” How he checks his e-mail – He reads all of them throughout the day, about 200 of them, but only replies immediately if he is not busy with something else. Consultancy is good for... – Operational areas. “For strategic areas, disruption makes no sense when you’re looking for innovation. We don’t want to spend time seeing what others have already done, but rather being directly with those who did it.” Corporate governance is... – Having a completely transparent administration. “That’s it, period.” Ten years ago – He was a partner at Microsiga, a company with earnings of R$ 28 million. “I never imagined the R$ 780 million of today, but I already thought big back then.” Ten years from now – “There’s no limit to the dream.” Ambition – “Just to keep going, doing, taking the opportunities that come along.” How he deals with the stock market’s ups and downs – He doesn’t keep track, so as not to be influenced. “The role of the CEO is to deliver results, irrespective of the market being good or not.” Stressful moment – Dealing with people who are always making excuses and cannot give a “yes” or “no” answer. “People who have more excuses than objective results make me see red.” A victory – The one that was just achieved. Generally, his victories are related to the fact that he was the first to do a certain thing, by thinking differently. Dream vacation – The next one, whatever it may be. Advice for beginners – “Always have your successor, so you can advance.” How he gets informed – Through newspapers and magazines. “I like paper. Knowledge read on a computer screen is not assimilated in the same way. Paper involves emotion and leads to reflection.” Quirk – He has recorded all his business meetings in hardcover notebooks with numbered pages since 1986, as if they were minutes. He keeps piles of these notebooks, with the company’s entire history documented by hand.