Roberto Azevêdo is a founding partner of YvY Capital, a Brazil-based asset management firm launched in September 2023. His return to public-facing leadership follows a wide-ranging career that has spanned international diplomacy, corporate stewardship, and global trade policy.
Until August 2023, Azevêdo served as Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at PepsiCo, where he also chaired the board of the PepsiCo Foundation. His remit included public policy, communications, and sustainability, and he worked closely with governments and regulators to help align corporate practice with a shifting policy landscape. Between 2013 to 2020, Roberto Azevêdo was the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Under his leadership, the WTO revived key negotiations and delivered significant multilateral agreements. These included the Trade Facilitation Agreement, the elimination of agricultural export subsidies, and the expansion of the Information Technology Agreement. But more telling than the treaties was Azevêdo’s approach to diplomacy. At the 2013 Bali conference, just months into his tenure, he steered fractured talks between US and Cuba to consensus by submitting a “take-it-or-leave-it” text.
Roberto Azevêdo began his career in Brazil’s diplomatic service, eventually rising to become the country’s chief trade negotiator. He has litigated cases before WTO panels, led Brazil’s Dispute Settlement Unit, and served as Permanent Representative to the WTO in Geneva. Earlier in life, he trained as an engineer before joining the prestigious Instituto Rio Branco, Brazil’s diplomatic academy.
Today, Azevêdo’s voice remains influential in conversations about global trade and governance. But his attention has shifted to a new frontier: catalysing capital for environmental transition. He sees the green economy not only as an investment opportunity, but as a political and institutional necessity. One that demands the same persistence, creativity, and coalition-building that once defined his diplomatic work.
