We are BRZ: Meet our Partners

In previous articles, we’ve discussed how BRZ was born from the dream of two Latin American immigrants who wanted to make purchasing insurance easier and more accessible to everyone. This duo has since expanded into a team of four business partners: Tiago Prado, Rodolpho Sanz, Eucimar Raposo and Monica Adwani.

A diverse team in origin, experience, training, and skills, they have something in common; they all migrated to the USA in search of better opportunities. Today, it is their mission to help other immigrants conquer and maintain the American dream.

But do you know who they are? Where they came from? Their favorite foods? Jokes aside, we are kicking off our new blog series “We are BRZ” with the responsible leaders of everyone’s favorite insurance brokerage.

Come meet the executive team behind BRZ.

Tiago Prado, CVO and Co-founder

Tiago Prado was born in Goiás, Brazil, and moved to the US as a child. He started his life here as an immigrant with only an eighth-grade education. He came with his mother in search of the dream of a better life, one with more opportunity and security.

Due to the lack of education, he worked doing all kinds of odd jobs– as a waiter, bartender, car salesman, and apprentice car technician. He earned a living and manage to support himself. It was through his mother’s marriage that he was able to obtain American residency. He then decided to go back to school but didn’t know where to start.

One day, Chuck W. Joyce, an employer of Tiago’s mother, offered to pay for his education because he believed in his aptitude. Chuck enrolled Tiago in a College Algebra course at Harvard Extension Summer Program, which Tiago completed. Completing this course was the turning point that led to Tiago’s mindset shift to began to believe in his own potential.

He completed the GED and enrolled at Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC), where he met Eucimar. At BHCC, he successfully ran for the position of Senator in the Student Government, became the founder and president of BHCC’s first Mathematics Club, and won a faculty-wide election to become the Student Trustee which led to a seat a the Governor’s Patrick Health Care steering Committee responsible for a sweeping reorganization of student health insurance benefits announced in 2010.

It was through the Student Trustee council that he met Rodolpho at a conference in San Francisco for all community college’s trustees. He then received a scholarship to Tufts University where he studied economics with a minor in entrepreneurship and leadership. Rodolpho was the major influencer who led Tiago to choose Tufts over Columbia University. The rest is history.

He went on to work in the finance industry and move to another city, but his entrepreneurial streak called out even louder. Raised and welcomed by the LatinX community of Massachusetts, Tiago saw the insurance industry as an opportunity to reciprocate the warm welcome.

After the death of Tiago’s cousin in a car accident, Tiago had seen up close just how catastrophic the lack of knowledge when it comes to insurance coverage can be, leaving an entire family helpless. Thus BRZ was born in 2017, an insurance brokerage committed to selling insurance you can truly understand. Today, Tiago is passionate about helping immigrants to achieve their American dream and maintaining it through insurance and entrepreneurship.

He is actively involved in the Driving Families Forward bill. In 2021, Tiago received the “James O. Herrick Jr – Memorial Young Agent of the Year Award” at the event organized by the Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agency (MAIA).

Rodolpho Sanz, CRO and Co-founder

Rodolpho Sanz is the son of a Peruvian man and a Brazilian woman. He was born in Newark, New Jersey and is a graduate of MassBay Community College. He went on to receive his BA from Tufts University and an MBA in Project Management from FGV, IBS, Brazil. It was at Tufts that Rodolpho met Tiago, starting a partnership that remains strong today.

As a college student, Rodolpho was active in social initiatives, non-profit programs and student associations. He also stood out as a student, receiving awards such as the CRC Press Chemistry Achievement Award from Taylor and Francis Group, given to the best chemistry student at the college. Despite this, he majored in economics and international relations.

After graduating from Tufts University, Rodolpho worked on several projects abroad, including in Brazil and Peru. One of these projects led him to be awarded and invited by the UN to be presented at the Palace of Nations, in Geneva, Switzerland, as one of the 60 best projects of sustainable characteristics to be replicated around the world, endorsed by UNECE. But, like Tiago, the desire to contribute to the LatinX community and to make it his business was stronger.

He also went through a traumatic experience as a result of a lack of insurance when, at age 6, his home in New Jersey was destroyed by a fire. He experienced firsthand what it is like to lose almost everything and not be fully covered due to not having the correct coverage.

Rodolpho is currently the President, CRO and Co-founder of BRZ Insurance, which was created in 2017 and has at its core a mission to help 1,000,000 Latinx people achieve and protect their American dream.

Eucimar Raposo, CTO

Eucimar Raposo is BRZ’s representative from Minas Gerais, the city that famously “exports” the most immigrants to the US. Born in Governador Valadares, he became interested in computers at an early age. At only 14 years old, he took his first data processing course.

This course cultivated in him an interest in programming, during a time when the industry was still at an infant stage in Brazil. It eventually led to an internship at WKVE, a company of the UOL Group.

Despite the competitive advantages that this early start could bring, Eucimar migrated with his family to the US in 2002. The feeling of starting from scratch soon changed as he realized that as an immigrant, the start is from -10.

Like Tiago, Eucimar had to make do as he could, and in 2007 he fulfilled his old dream of going back to school. Since university is more expensive for undocumented immigrants, he joined Bunker Hill Community College, where he met his future partner.

However, in order to pay for college, Eucimar had to start with just a few classes per semester. He eventually graduated in 2010 with an Associate degree.

He then worked as a web developer for different companies, but in 2018, Rodolpho and Tiago recognized the need for BRZ to have someone with experience in technology and the ability to learn new languages. Eucimar was the obvious choice.

Since then, Eucimar joined the company and brought to BRZ all the features and facilities that technology provides us. The goal is to facilitate the processes of acquisition and insurance claims, and to help make your life easier.

Monica Adwani, COO

BRZ’s newest partner was introduced to our community in early 2022 and is already revolutionizing the company. Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Monica came to Massachusetts in 2007 and graduated in Information Management, Medical Coding, and Business Management from InterAmerican University of P.R. and Fisher College in Boston.

Unlike many people who start with sales or service, Monica arrived in the insurance market through a research group. She ended up falling in love with the industry and decided that this would be the professional path she would take.

Monica Adwani is a powerhouse in insurance operations with a proven track record of bringing bold and innovative processes to life. She has led multifaceted sales and marketing teams at some of New England’s largest and most recognized insurance agencies.

In the market since 2008, Mônica knows each stage and process of the sector, having worked with sales, claims, service, training, marketing and team management. As COO of BRZ, Monica brings an innovative vision with which to lead operations and create new strategies in the insurance market in Massachusetts. In addition, Monica will bridge the gap between BRZ and the values and traditions of our Hispanic community.

In 2019, she was awarded the “Massachusetts Young Agent of The Year” by the Massachusetts Association of Insurance Agency (same as Tiago!) and is now one of the co-chairs of Young Agents from the same association. She was also awarded the “2021 Latinx Amplifier” by Amplify LatinX, an award created to celebrate the work of 30 risk takers and community advocates.

Active in the LatinX community, Mônica Adwani has already established herself as a leader and reference for women in the sector, especially Latinas. With her TranscendwithM podcast, she expands her reach by sharing stories of empowerment, resilience, autonomy, entrepreneurship, challenges, success, responsibility, equality and legacy.

We are BRZ

We have only just started introducing our team. We began with those who set the tone and direction for the most diverse and engaged brokerage in Massachusetts, so that you can understand our roots.

In the coming weeks, we will share more about our workforce and those on the front lines bringing you attentive service, accurate information, and, of course, the insurance that will help you keep your dream alive in Uncle Sam’s land.