Educational Background and Early Influences
The professional trajectory of Haroldo Jacobovicz was built upon a structured educational foundation. After seven formative years at Military College, he pursued Civil Engineering at the Federal University of Paraná, completing the program in four and a half years. This technical training, combined with his family background—his father Alfredo was a civil engineer and university professor, while his mother Sarita made history as the seventh female civil engineer in Paraná—provided the analytical framework that would later serve him in business, though his career would ultimately diverge from traditional civil construction.
Information as Business Intelligence
Throughout his career, Haroldo Jacobovicz has maintained a practice of extensive reading, particularly newspapers and magazines. This habit has provided him with broad awareness of global developments and technological trends—information that becomes the foundation for the business ideas he later implements. This intellectual curiosity and constant information gathering have been consistent threads throughout his professional life.
First Entrepreneurial Experience
The business journey of Haroldo Jacobovicz began before he even completed his university studies. Recognizing the potential for computer automation in retail operations, he gathered three friends with computer skills to establish Microsystem. Their company aimed to revolutionize how stores, pharmacies, and supermarkets managed inventory and cash registers. Though this venture closed after two years because the market wasn’t yet ready for such technological integration, it demonstrated Jacobovicz’s forward-thinking approach.
Corporate Experience Development
Following this initial entrepreneurial effort, Haroldo Jacobovicz joined Esso (now Exxon Mobil Corporation). Selected from among more than 200 engineers, he quickly demonstrated his capabilities, advancing from reserve salesman to market analyst for the South region, eventually reaching a position handling commercial tactics and new business at the Brazilian headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. His work there heavily utilized computer-processed data, further deepening his appreciation for information technology’s business applications in the private sector.
Public Sector Technology Challenges
Economic pressures during the Cruzado Plan period, combined with family considerations, eventually prompted Haroldo Jacobovicz to leave Esso and return to Paraná. There, he joined the prestigious Itaipu Hydroelectric Plant project as an advisor to the Technical Director. This role provided unique perspectives on how the public sector approached computerization, including the bureaucratic challenges associated with adopting new technologies—insights that would later shape his business solutions.
Innovative Public Sector Solutions
After four years at Itaipu, Haroldo Jacobovicz returned to entrepreneurship with a refined vision specifically targeting public sector needs. He founded Minauro, a company offering an innovative approach to government agencies: computer rental and maintenance with four-year contracts that included equipment replacement every 18 months. This solution directly addressed the bureaucratic hurdles he had observed in public administration and proved highly successful, winning bids throughout Brazil’s South and Southeast regions.
E-Government Software Integration
The business intelligence of Haroldo Jacobovicz led him to expand beyond hardware into comprehensive public administration solutions. Through strategic acquisitions of companies including Consult, Perform, and Sisteplan, he incorporated specialized software for tax, financial, administrative, health, and education management. This expansion resulted in the formation of the e-Governe Group, which continues to serve Brazilian municipalities with comprehensive IT solutions for public administration.
Corporate Telecommunications Services
In 2010, recognizing opportunities to better serve private sector needs, Haroldo Jacobovicz founded Horizons Telecom. Built from the ground up with premium resources and based on a project originally conceived by Renato Guerreiro (the first president of Anatel), the company quickly established itself in the corporate telecommunications niche. Within a decade, it became a reference in its market segment before being acquired by a major investment group in early 2021.
Cross-Sector Technology Solution
Following his telecommunications success, Haroldo Jacobovicz launched Arlequim Technologies in 2021. This startup focuses on computer virtualization, offering solutions that enhance the performance of existing equipment to match state-of-the-art machines. The service targets both corporate and public sector clients, as well as the retail market—particularly gamers—providing cost-effective alternatives to hardware replacement.
Balanced Sector Approach
A notable aspect of Haroldo Jacobovicz’s career has been his ability to develop solutions for both public and private sectors, recognizing the unique needs and constraints of each. His public sector work, particularly through Minauro and the e-Governe Group, has addressed the specific bureaucratic and administrative requirements of government organizations. Meanwhile, his private sector initiatives like Horizons Telecom have focused on delivering premium services to corporate clients. His current venture, Arlequim Technologies, serves both markets with a solution that offers universal benefits: improved computing performance without the cost of new hardware.
Throughout his career spanning multiple sectors and business models, Haroldo Jacobovicz has consistently demonstrated the ability to identify technological opportunities and translate them into practical solutions that improve operations for both public and private organizations.