20/09/2024 – 2:44
Tallis Gomes founded Easy Taxi, created the Singu platform, defined as the “Uber of beauty”, and is currently the president and partner of G4 Educação, a company that had revenues of R$200 million in 2023. But it wasn’t this resume that made the businessman famous, but rather an Instagram post that quickly went viral. In it, the businessman said that men should not have long-term relationships with female CEOs of large companies.
It all started when a user asked: “If your wife was the CEO of a big company, would you be engaged?” This was the first response:
“God save me from a female CEO. With rare exceptions (I personally only know two); this woman will go through a process of masculinization that will invariably put my home in fourth place, me in third place and my children in second place.
In the succession of texts that followed, the businessman continued to argue, saying that a person in the position of CEO, like him, goes through a lot of stress and pressure and that, physically, the professional becomes very shaken. “Psychologically, you need to be very, very tough to endure it.”
The businessman then criticized feminism and adopted a sexist discourse. “A man who can afford to support his wife and doesn’t do so is missing out on the greatest benefit of a woman, which is the use of feminine energy in the right places, home and family.”
Tallis’s position went viral and received several criticisms, including from Luiza Trajano, who served as CEO of the Magazine Luiza chain of stores and is currently the chairwoman of the Board of Directors. The businesswoman posted on Linkedin that she does not agree with the position of the founder of Easy Taxi. The company hired G4 Educação for a course that, according to them, was “one-off” for the marketplace.
“I raised three children working hard, including as CEO of Magalu. I knew how to take care of them and the elderly in the family. I have close friends who chose to stay at home to raise their children more closely. They simply chose a different lifestyle, and I never criticized them. Both my children and theirs are happy, committed and nice. I always say: there is no recipe for raising a family,” she said.
Upon realizing the impact of the post, Tallis returned to Instagram to make a response.
“My position has nothing to do with my value judgment on whether or not a woman is capable of being the CEO of a large company. I spoke about who I want by my side as my wife. (…) My company will make R$100 million in EBITDA this year and my CFO is a woman. If I didn’t believe in a woman’s ability to deliver, would I leave my company’s cash flow in the hands of one?”
Then, he launched a challenge for social media users. He asked them to find 1,000 companies with more than R$100 million in EBITDA that have a female CFO. “If you find one, you can send it to me and the first one to send it and prove it will get a R$100k Pix,” he said.
The initial attempt at clarification was unsuccessful. Other major businesswomen made posts condemning Tallis Gomes. The co-founder of the Institute of Technology and Leadership (Inteli), Ana Beatriz Gomes, said on her Linkedin account: “God forbid I should work with a CEO who thinks that!”
Ana Beatriz is asking for help from social media users to come up with names of successful Brazilian entrepreneurs in both their careers and family life to send to the president of G4 Educação. “Shall we help you expand your repertoire?” she posted on her Linkedin.
The senior commercial and marketing director of the multinational Reckitt, Renata Vieira, said she woke up to messages on her WhatsApp about Tallis’ statements, in a post on Linkedin.
The Caldeira Institute canceled the businessman’s participation in Caldeira Week 2024, held in Porto Alegre.
After receiving criticism, Tallis Gomes returned to social media, this time to apologize.
“I recognize that my words were misplaced and that the terms used did not reflect my personal values or those of my company, G4 Educação. I am deeply sorry and would like to reiterate my sincere apologies to everyone who felt offended.”
This is not the first time his statements have gained repercussion. Earlier this year, in a podcast, he stated that he does not hire “leftists” and that his employees work “80 hours a week.”
Other side
In a statement released by G4 Educação, Tallis Gomes stated that the intention “was never to belittle or question the capacity or role of women, whether in the job market or in any other sphere of society. Throughout my career, I have had the privilege of working with incredible women, whose competence and leadership were fundamental to the success of our initiatives. In particular, I would like to highlight my partner and CFO of G4 Educação, who plays an essential role in the growth and development of our company.”
G4, in turn, said that Tallis Gomes made a mistake in a text published on Instagram about female executives. “He understood the mistake and apologized today. G4 Education does not agree with that first statement. It does not represent the company or its trajectory.”
Profile
Tallis Gomes is from the city of Carangola, a city in the interior of Minas Gerais. He was raised by his grandmother, due to his mother’s absence and his father’s busy routine as a military police officer. He moved to Rio de Janeiro to attend college. It was then that he began to invest more in his career as an entrepreneur.
One of his projects, Easy Taxi, earned him titles as Forbes Under 30 and MIT Global Innovators. The company was sold in 2019 to the Spanish company Cabify. He also founded Singu, a beauty services platform that was acquired by Natura.
He founded G4 Educação in 2019, together with other entrepreneurs in the market. The focus of his company is to “transform Brazilian reality through entrepreneurship”. In four years, more than 30 thousand students have completed the training they offer.
On his social media, the businessman gives tips on how to succeed in your career and start a business in Brazil. He has 800 thousand followers on Instagram.
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