Per Artur de Castro, partner at Evermonte Executive Search and leader of Santa Catarina operations.
Santa Catarina is the state of origin of 141 of the 500 companies mentioned in the Biggest in the South ranking prepared by Grupo Ajante in partnership with the consultancy PwC Brasil. The group of 141 companies from Santa Catarina includes leaders in different segments and recorded around R$354.6 billion in net revenue in 2022, which demonstrates the State’s weight in the development of the regional economy. In this context, there is another important fact to be considered: in the last quarter of 2023, Santa Catarina had the lowest unemployment rate in the country (3.2%, according to IBGE). Thus, there are four main reasons for the success of Santa Catarina’s enterprises.
One of them is investment in governance, which qualifies corporate management, especially in family businesses, in which separating interests and ensuring the continuity of the business are major challenges. Dedicating efforts to succession planning, relationship maintenance and internal management has been crucial for the growth of companies in Santa Catarina. The main measure is the adoption of boards of directors with independent advisors, a widespread practice in the State that makes businesses more resilient to market changes, in addition to fostering innovation based on the diversity of experiences and a comprehensive vision provided by professionals.
Investing in expanding operations, improving production processes in manufacturing parks, digitalization and cutting-edge technology is also a strategy that has boosted the local economy. In fact, state public management itself contributes to the movement through the Santa Catarina Company Development Program (Prodec). At the end of 2023, the State Secretariat for Industry approved R$158.47 million in private investments in Santa Catarina, with part of the amount being allocated to the construction, expansion or modernization of industrial zones.
Associations are another important driver, especially in the context of new businesses. Although competitiveness is an inherent characteristic of the economy, the union of efforts between the largest and smallest players from different segments leverages joint growth and encourages the best management, technology and governance practices. Furthermore, mutual support contributes to staff training, cost reduction, multidisciplinary learning, exchange of experiences, increased profitability and encouragement of an entrepreneurial culture.
In fact, partnerships and strategic alliances can be established on a national and global scale. This is a means by which the services and products offered in the State have become increasingly qualified and, consequently, stimulated competitiveness and improvement throughout the country. Agreements between companies focus on reciprocal gains through the union of tangible resources and intangible (even if organizations maintain their independence). In Santa Catarina, actions such as project financing, joint development of solutions, integration of technological tools, identification of productivity gaps, optimization of the customer experience and the use of partner expertise to enhance results are observed.
In short, the business success of Santa Catarina companies is closely linked to strategic action. New and traditional players must be aware of this panorama and the need (and challenge) to maintain continuous innovation to nurture their longevity. In this context, whoever is in charge of C-Level and Board positions must, more than ever, take advantage of the potential of the State – which today has one of the largest economies in Brazil.
