Manuel Teijeiro

Manuel Teijeiro

Managing Director, Collateral Management Division

A city boy, that’s Manuel Teijeiro (Las Piedras, Uruguay, 1985). Born in a suburb of Montevideo. His path seemed to have been set: the baker’s son would become a lawyer, just like his brother. A job at Peterson opened his eyes. “I saw a world I didn’t know. Uruguay as an agricultural country, with farmers and cattle breeders. That’s when I knew: that’s the real world. I want to help build that.”

Uruguay, sandwiched between Argentina and Brazil, is about three times the size of the Netherlands and is home to only 3 million inhabitants. “It may sound crazy,” says Manuel, “but when I meet a Uruguayan abroad, we know each other or we have a mutual friend.”

“Travel is not possible for everyone. Certainly not for a baker’s son.” How different Manuel’s life turned out. He joined Peterson & Control Union in 2014 while studying law and from that moment on, a whole new world opened up for him. He laughs, from his apartment in Rotterdam-Blijdorp, his faithful four-legged friend Mora asleep at his feet. Manuel from Las Piedras (the stones) has become a passionate Agricultural Business Analyst. And a citizen of the world.

Trusted intermediary

Why didn’t he want to stay in the legal profession? “The legal profession in Uruguay is focused on conflict, on strife. I want to help build something.” To the future of farmers and cattle breeders, to that of makers and traders. That is exactly his role as an Agricultural Business Analyst.

“If two parties don’t know each other but want to trade, we as Peterson & Control Union are the trusted intermediary.” It almost seems like a typical Uruguayan role: connecting.

“We protect the interests of our key parties throughout the supply chain. Controlling and minimizing the risks is the core of our task, ensuring safety in the implementation of new techniques is crucial these days.”

Developments in technology are happening fast. “In the past, if we had to determine the weight of a bulk load, it could take at least half a day. Estimating the dimensions, converting them to a geometric shape, determining the density and then using a complicated formula to produce a number.” Manuel drops an appropriate silence and takes a sip of his yerba mate, a warm herbal drink. “Nowadays we fly over it with a drone and use a 3D technique based on Lidar technology. Then we know the weight, very precisely, in fifteen minutes to an hour.”

Family

“Innovation is in PCU’s blood,” he says, “otherwise you wouldn’t live to be a hundred years old as a company. We will continue to innovate. In this day and age, we need to be able to adapt and change faster and faster. That will be our challenge, the pace at which we adapt. If we keep our family values strong in the company, we can handle that just fine. These family values give confidence and security. That you can be afraid, for a moment. That you can make a mistake. That your job doesn’t disappear because a robot arrives.”