Gui Ruggiero, MBA/MSc ’20

As the saying goes, leaders are made, not born. For some leaders, that “made” involves confronting the most painful event of their life. 
 
Such was the case for Brazil native Gui Ruggiero, MBA/MSc ’20, who was active in a number of programs within the Sanger Leadership Center during his time at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, including the Student and Alumni Board, Story Lab, Sanger Journey, and Crisis Challenge. Gui wrapped up his Ross education during the 2020-2021 Academic Year, graduating in December. 
 
It was his 10 minutes up on the Story Lab stage in Ross’ Robertson Auditorium in February 2020 that came to most clearly define his development as a leader at Michigan Ross. Gui started his speech by pronouncing a date forever etched in all Americans’ minds: September 11. Gui’s personal 9/11, however, took place five years before planes crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in rural Pennsylvania.  
 
Gui’s September 11 involved the tragic and unexpected death of a family member in 1996. It was a time he didn’t discuss publicly until that winter night on the Michigan Ross campus. He relayed to his peers how the tragedy left him feeling angry and looking for ways to cope. Gui turned to tennis as an outlet, feeling a sense of relief from hitting the small ball around the courts as hard as he wanted, whenever he wanted. “It became my coping mechanism,” he said. “It actually has been until today.”
 
That “today” came from the Story Lab stage, where, in front of a crowd of peers, Gui decided to break his long silence about his personal moment of heartbreak and tragedy. He talked about how he learned to take his anger and turn it into optimism, choosing to see the beauty in life. 
 
Today, he realizes that making the decision to open up about his past has helped him relate to people better and in turn, be a better leader. 
 
“I’m a true believer that if you know more about yourself and are comfortable with what motivates you to be the person you are, the better leader you will be,” Gui said about the exploration of feelings he kept private for decades. “That story was buried inside of me for so many years. Before Story Lab, I couldn’t even mention it. Talking about it helped me process and think about how that made me be the person I am today. Building a narrative around it helped me deliver a message to my classmates — a message of optimism.”
 
I will be a better leader because of that, because I know myself better and I’m more comfortable discussing myself, and that helps me lead. … The best leaders I’ve had are people with flaws, uncertainties, and anxieties.” 
 
Gui closed his Story Lab presentation by telling his peers, “Going through all that at such a young age really taught me the power of optimism and that we do have a choice. It’s not about what happens to us — it’s about how we react to what happens to us. It’s beautiful out there,” he said, referencing the snowy winter day that some may choose to bemoan. “Stay warm, and stay positive.”
 
Gui expressed a “huge thank you” to those who make Sanger programming possible. “Unless donors have been to Michigan recently and talked to the students, it’s very hard to understand how people perceive Sanger and the impact Sanger programs have, not only at Ross but at Michigan at large. It’s amazing,” he said, surmising that it’s very likely every student at Michigan Ross wants to have a role in leadership. “Sanger occupies such an important role at Ross and the Michigan communities.”
 
Gui not only participated in Sanger programs — he helped shape the Sanger experience for other students. He served as a coach behind the scenes at Crisis Challenge, supporting others as they navigated the all-virtual experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a member of the student and alumni board, he provided Sanger staff with critical insight and ideas about current programs. For example, Gui was instrumental in giving feedback about the Sanger Leadership Journey model during the summer of 2020, even volunteering to speak in a video about it.
 
Following his December graduation, Gui was hired as a senior product manager at Amazon and plans to move to Seattle this summer.