JUAN ROMERO: The growth opportunity exists in every country, Brazil, the rest of the region, in the ELT markets, in higher education. A new segment we’re entering in the vocational professional markets, collaboration with Edexcel, and our largest growth opportunity - the traditional school market, the K12 market. Brazil represents over 60% of the educational market in Latin America, and only 25% of our revenues, so if we have to place a bet on growth for the region, it’s Brazil.

GUY GERLACH: One of the paradoxes of Brazil is that we have, depending on the exchange rate, somewhere around the tenth largest economy in the world, and yet we have a school system that ranks 50th, 52nd, 55th in the PISA results, the international standards.

JUAN ROMERO: Right now you’re at 80% of college students go to private universities, and the majority of those to for-profit universities, for-profit universities that have listed in the local stock market. And that investment, that competitive environment is increasing the quality, it’s increasing the amount of university that’s being offered to the students, and it’s happening in the segment of society that needs it the most, the middle of the pyramid, the bottom of the pyramid, so at the end of the day it’s having a positive impact in education, social and economic development.

ANTONIO CARBONARI: We are developing several programmes just to put education to simple levels to the basic students. That’s why today we have a great, great market in post-secondary education. The students are strongly motivated, because with a Diploma they raise their salary. In Brazil, when the students graduate, it’s a statistic of course, they put the salary three times more in the first three years. That is a great motivator.

GUY GERLACH: English language teaching represents about half of our current turnover, and we are very excited at the opportunities that are coming out of the ELT division.

MARCELO BARROS: I think working with Pearson allows us to be at the top edge of whatever is modern and new in the ELT world. Different than some of the other major players in the market in Brazil, which are very respectable, but they are not very much in to what’s new and modern, like CNA. So everything that’s new, that comes firsthand in the ELT world, Pearson usually brings us, and we are very keen on sharing that with our network of schools.

JUAN ROMERO: The FT is the most prestigious global business daily in the world, the way the Economist is the most prestigious and influential news weekly in the world.

JONATHAN WHEATLEY: If you say you’re from the FT people suddenly want to - want to start to talk to you. It’s very well recognised, it has a huge amount of respect. There’s a lot of opportunity to bring business in through the brand I think, in Brazil.

SOPHIE PIQUEMAL: Certainly Brazil is the area where we’re seeing a lot of growth, and where it’s growing, I think from being a more kind of academic reference market to a more trade frontlist market, which is very exciting, because it’s much more dynamic, I think.

FABIO HERZ: 20% of our sales are from English language books, which for us it’s very important. So …..Penguin is doing very well with us, and I believe the potential is great. People are learning a second language which is good, and Brazil is developing all these important areas like education, economic growth, and this is very important to us. I think this is the reason we will invest even more in English language books.

JUAN ROMERO: I think the secret in Latin America is social and economic development, through effective social programmes, through good investment in health, security and infrastructure, and through investment in education, that economic and social development takes the region ahead as it’s done in many Asian countries, as you’re starting to see in sections of Brazil, Mexico, Chile, other countries. So those are the challenges, but those are also the opportunities.