2010 - Henrique Meirelles

The first recipient of the Perlmutter Award for Excellence in Global Business Leadership was Henrique Meirelles, Governor of the Central Bank of Brazil. Mr. Meirelles accepted the award at a ceremony and talk at Brandeis IBS in May 2010.

Henrique Meirelles, Governor of the Central Bank of Brazil

Henrique de Campos Meirelles has been Governor of the Central Bank of Brazil since January 2003. 

Prior to this position, he was President of FleetBoston's Corporate and Global Bank and of BankBoston Corporation. Mr. Meirelles joined BankBoston in 1974 and became its Brazilian President in 1984. He was later appointed President and COO of BankBoston Corporation in 1996, moving to Boston, Massachusetts. He was named President of FleetBoston's Corporate and Global Bank in October 1999, following the merger of BankBoston and Fleet Financial Group.

He was a member of the Board of Directors of BankBoston Corp, FleetBoston Financial, Raytheon Corporation, Bestfoods and Champion International.

He is the Chairman of the Society for the Revitalization of the City of São Paulo and founding President of the Latin American Leasing Federation. He was Chairman of the Travessia Foundation, which cares for homeless children in Brazil, and of the American Chamber of Commerce in São Paulo.

Mr. Meirelles was also a member of the Advisory Boards of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, the Sloan School of Management of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Carroll School of Management of the Boston College, as well as a member of the Board of Trustees of the New England Conservatory of Music and of the Institute of Contemporary Arts of Boston.

Mr. Meirelles holds an Honorary Degree from Bryant College. He was elected a Congressman in Brazil in 2002.

Among other awards, Mr. Meirelles was chosen “Brasileiro do Ano 2008” by ISTOÉ magazine, “Central Bank Governor of the Year 2007” by Euromoney and "Financier of the Year 2008” by Latin Trade Bravo.