Hemisfério Sul Investimentos (HSI) No Compromise: Nothing but the Best Will Do for Pioneers of Brazil’s Real Estate Sector

Hemisfério Sul Investimentos (HSI) nails its colours to the mast on its website with the motto: “Good enough is not enough.”

That attitude extends all the way to the top, and its leading management figures accept nothing but 100 percent effort and engagement.

HSI CEO and CIO Maximo Lima has 25 years of experience in real estate private equity, M&A, structured credit, and management.

He studied at the University of Chicago, graduating with a BA in Economics. Lima has been at the helm of HSI since its inception, and is responsible for the company’s strategic planning and real estate investment strategy.

His network of contacts and deep sector experience have created an impressive career path and a proven track record. He has co-ordinated more than 100 transactions, including the creation of a logistics platform, CLB, and its subsequent sale to GLP. At the time, it was the largest Brazilian real estate transaction ever.

Maximo Lima began his career in hedge funds in 1997, then joined investment bank Wassertein Perella & Co. He participated in the management buyout of the emerging markets division in 1999.

He returned to Brazil in 2000, and was given responsibility for structuring the first securitisation operations for Rio Bravo, at the time a new player in Brazilian finance. In 2003, Lima founded the real estate division of GP Investimentos with two partners – the group that became Prosperitas in 2005, and HSI in 2012.

David Ariaz is CFO and COO at HSI. He brought with him 29 years of experience in corporate management, real estate finance, structuring, and execution.

His education was at UC Berkeley, where – like CEO Lima – he completed a BA in Economics. He also holds an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Ariaz joined HSI in 2012, and is responsible for corporate planning, with a focus on finance, fund management, and portfolio companies. He participates on boards of directors and co-ordinates compliance and risk-management for the funds and management company, ultimately signing off on each transaction.

Ariaz manages relationships with leading banks and co-ordinates all financing transactions. In the credit area, he oversees structuring and helps to customise investment opportunities to suit the borrower’s profile.

Prior to joining HSI, he structured and originated real estate finance transactions worth more than $356m, and was responsible for developing the largest logistics platform in Brazil at the time. He contributed to the professionalisation of the Brazilian real estate financing market.

Prior to joining HSI, David Ariaz was a partner and CFO at Bracor Investimentos Imobiliários, and director of structured finance and asset management at Brazilian Capital.