Grupo Vila Nova

Helmar Fernandes

Helmar Fernandes is a senior HR professional passionate about inspiring people and driving positive change. With expertise in talent management, diversity, inclusion, and leadership, he is recognized as a mentor and coach who build trust, nurtures teams, and champions continuous improvement.

In an exclusive interview with Manage HR, Helmar Fernandes shared his views on how Grupo Vila Nova drives innovation through AI-focused, people-centric leadership.

At the Helm of People Strategy

As Head of People at Grupo Vila Nova, I am responsible for planning the human resources strategy for nearly 2,000 employees across five locations in two Brazilian states (Minas Gerais and São Paulo). As a generalist HR professional, I lead all initiatives end-to-end—from strategy and organizational design, to recruitment and selection, compensation policies, training and development, performance management, organizational culture, and employee experience.

Mediating Styles to Maintain Culture

When I joined the company, my biggest challenge was fostering synergy across different departments that were highly interdependent and in need of better communication and alignment—especially between commercial and logistics. Additionally, we are currently facing a major talent retention challenge in the context of full employment in Brazil, along with generational dynamics and the need to adapt to more flexible work models. That’s why launching a leadership program was crucial. It allowed leaders with different styles to understand each other better and collaborate more effectively. This program helped us define the core competencies for our new phase and is now being expanded to tactical leadership levels.

“AI isn’t just about technology or tools— it’s about cultivating a mindset that embraces change at unprecedented speed”

New Methods to Shift Workplace Culture

Innovation is key. Starting with our executive team (HR, Logistics, Sales, Controllership, and Digital), we created a culture of AI immersion that now runs throughout the entire company. We understand that AI isn’t just about technology or tools—it’s about cultivating a mindset that embraces change at unprecedented speed, and that only happens when everyone is on board. Today, for every recurring task in the company, employees at all levels are encouraged to seek innovative, AI-driven solutions. We're training everyone in this mindset. We also encourage squad-based collaboration, a human-centered perspective, and innovation through collective effort.

Maintaining Culture in Hybrid Workplaces

We lead by being present. While the market has broadly embraced remote and hybrid models, our commercial and logistics teams—representing 75% of our workforce—still operate fully in person. It's part of who we are. That said, corporate support areas are free to adopt hybrid arrangements. For us, the leadership program is focused on innovation—regardless of where it originates.

Harnessing Synergy for Enduring Change

Choose your focus. We knew we had two paths ahead: either take the lead or follow the trends. We chose to lead. Today, we are highly advanced in process automation, which means we can dedicate more time to strategic growth and less to operational tasks. To keep leadership aligned in such a dynamic environment, there’s only one way: stay close, collaborate intentionally, and communicate clearly—built on psychologically safe environments and a culture of trust and mutual support.