The idea of an IT engineer locked in a room and looking for solutions to a world in which he has no contact with has always disturbed João Fernandes. To break this stereotype, he defined a goal in his life: everything he does has to have a positive impact on people. From education to Artificial Intelligence, his career has been shaped by options that he considers to be strange. So far, he does not regret a single step.

The Magazine-Review interviews João Fernandes, alumnus of The Lisbon MBA (2014-2016) and Founder/CEO at ODISAY

João Fernandes has always loved technology and computers. When it was time to go to the university, he had no doubts: Information Systems and Computer Engineering at Instituto Superior Técnico (IST). During his BSc degree, he started to work in web design companies, where he became interested in management. However, there was a missing link. “I really need to be connected with others, to understand how technology could help to shape the world around me”, João Fernandes shares.

Focused on his career, he continued his studies, with a master’s degree at IST, and was part of the Microsoft Innovation Center of ISCTE. Eventually, João Fernandes became an Assistant Teacher at IST.

The next step was more challenging. He moved to INESC-ID, an R&D institute dedicated to advanced research and development in the fields of Information Technologies, Electronics, Communications and Energy. João Fernandes became project manager, in charge of several FP7 European projects.

For four years, airports were a second home. At some point, enough was enough. “I decided to stay in Portugal and look for a new project linked to technology. I found an opportunity at LEYA, a publishing house who was investing in technology-based products. I ended up leading their innovation department and building the team, which had 17 people”.

At LEYA, he developed a digital learning solution to Portugal, Angola, Brazil and Mozambique. “It was a rewarding experience because it had an impact on children and teachers. In Angola, for instance, we double the number of teachers who were trained in one year”.

João Fernandes was truly fulfilled, but he wanted to be exposed to different things. The Lisbon MBA has emerged as a new career path and, by the second year, he decided to take annual leave from LEYA. Everything had run according to plan until the phone rang.

“I got a call from The Lisbon MBA career management saying there was a very interesting opportunity for me, in a multinational technology company. I would be the CEO of a holding with ten companies related to ​​hospitality software. At that time, there would not be many opportunities for a 30 years old guy like me to take over such a position”, João Fernandes comments.

Pros and cons

He accepted a new job position at Newhotel Software. But, when he finished his MBA, it was time for some introspection. “For me, it was a process of transformation because I dealt with different people from different backgrounds. In the end, I thought it was time to stop for one year – now for real. I went on a trip to Indonesia, where I was far away from everything. When I returned home, I had this clear idea of starting my own company and help people”.

Back in Portugal, he first joined a startup lead by two great friends.  After helping Sensei to close a seed funding round, he invested in creating its own company.

ODYSAI was founded one year ago. The company uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) in process automation, particularly with documents. “It is the most common way of exchanging information – invoices, contracts, complaints, resumes, etc. At ODYSAI we are using AI to empower automation, supporting data extraction, validation and integration creating context and information over all these documents and eliminating costly data entry activities.

Nowadays, João Fernandes is feeling a sense of accomplishment. He wants to turn his company even more solid and travel the world to contact with more and more people. What about plans to pursue new career achievements? “It’s a waste of time. Besides that, things evolve very quickly in the technology field”, he says.

 

Music: Nessun Dorma (Giacomo Puccini)

Book: Being Mortal (Atul Gawande), The Wisdom of Forgiveness: Intimate Conversations and Journeys (Dalai Lama) and Leading Change (John Kotter)

Movie: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry)

Motto: “When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind”