Mentor Spotlight: From Global Strategy to Meaningful Mentorship with Luiz Fittipaldi
Global Strategy & Planning Manager at Preply, Luiz Fittipaldi, shares his non-linear career journey across gaming, finance, and mobility sectors. From launching a mobile game with 50M+ downloads to leading strategy across 45+ countries at Bolt, discover how mentorship became his true north and the common challenges founders and professionals face during growth and transition phases.
Welcome to another edition of Mentor Spotlight on mentor.sh – where we sit down with experienced professionals to learn from their expertise and journey. Today, we're diving deep into global strategy, career transitions, and the transformative power of mentorship.
We had the pleasure of interviewing Luiz Fittipaldi, Global Strategy & Planning Manager at Preply, who shares his unique perspective on building careers across continents, scaling businesses internationally, and why mentorship has become the most fulfilling part of his professional journey.
Whether you're a founder looking to expand globally, a professional navigating career transitions, or someone curious about the strategic mindset needed for international business, this interview offers valuable insights from someone who has navigated multiple industries and geographies.
The Interview
mentor.sh: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your current role?
I'm Luiz Fittipaldi, a global strategy and growth expert with over 10 years of experience across consulting, startups, and corporate innovation. I currently work at Preply as Global Strategy & Planning Manager, where I focus on customer experience, AI adoption, and operational excellence.
My expertise lies in international expansion, go-to-market strategy, venture scaling, and mentoring founders. Over the years, I've supported companies in Latin America, Europe, and Africa, and mentored more than 70 founders worldwide on strategy, fundraising, and growth.
In parallel, I co-founded Growth Ventures Consulting, a boutique advisory for startups, and lead Vida de Expatriado, a mentorship community and podcast supporting global professionals.
mentor.sh: Your career path seems quite diverse. How did you get started, and what shaped your journey?
My career has never been a straight line, and that's exactly what shaped me. I started at Movile/PlayKids, where I worked on licensing and led the launch of Crafty Lands, a mobile game that went from zero to over 50 million downloads. That experience showed me how to spot market gaps, build partnerships, and turn an idea into something global.
From there, I moved into Banco BV, focusing on strategy, foresight, and innovation projects in the financial sector. It was a very different environment—corporate, structured—but it gave me the discipline to manage complex projects and think long-term.
Later, I joined Bolt, where I led the first global strategy planning process across 45+ countries and 800+ cities. It was intense, but it taught me how to align diverse teams and drive growth at scale. Today, at Preply, I focus on global strategy, AI adoption, and customer experience.
Along the way, I co-founded Growth Ventures Consulting to support early-stage startups, and created Vida de Expatriado, a mentorship community and podcast. The common thread in all these chapters has been connecting people, ideas, and markets—and more recently, rediscovering my passion for teaching and mentoring as the next big chapter in my journey.
mentor.sh: What drew you to mentorship? Why did you decide to become a mentor?
Mentorship has been a natural extension of my career and my values. I grew up in an entrepreneurial family, and throughout my professional journey in strategy and growth, I've been fortunate to work across industries, geographies, and with inspiring leaders. Over time, I realized how much I enjoyed not only solving business challenges but also sharing what I had learned with others.
My turning point came when I began teaching business strategy to students from different backgrounds. Within months, I delivered over 100 hours of lessons to learners from 15+ countries, including a particularly moving experience mentoring a 65-year-old student with cognitive conditions. That reminded me that mentorship is not only about business—it's about human connection, empowerment, and helping people unlock their potential.
What keeps me engaged today is seeing founders and professionals take concrete steps forward—whether that's refining their strategy, raising funds, or simply gaining the clarity and confidence they need to make their next move. Mentorship allows me to give back, while continuously learning and staying connected to the energy of ambitious people building the future.
mentor.sh: What types of challenges do your mentees typically come to you with?
Most of the mentees who come to me are navigating moments of transition or growth, and they're looking for clarity on how to move forward. Founders often bring challenges like defining their go-to-market strategy, raising investment, or scaling beyond their first market. They want someone who's been there to pressure-test their ideas, refine their pitch, and give them a structured path forward.
On the career side, I mentor professionals who are shifting roles, moving abroad, or breaking into strategy for the first time. Common struggles include positioning themselves, building confidence, and learning how to translate their skills into opportunities.
Across both groups, the themes repeat: uncertainty, decision-making, and growth under pressure. What I do is help them break down complexity into actionable steps—so they leave with more than just advice, but also a sense of direction and confidence to act.
mentor.sh: How has mentoring others impacted your own professional development?
It has forced me to structure all my learning into ways that are clear and easy to grasp for people from multiple backgrounds. This process of breaking down complex strategic concepts and making them accessible has actually sharpened my own thinking and communication skills significantly.
mentor.sh: Can you share a particularly memorable success story from your mentoring experience?
When I mentored a student with learning disabilities aged around 65+ in business strategy who wanted to learn to give back to his community. It was incredibly moving and reminded me that mentorship transcends age, background, and circumstances. Seeing him gain confidence and develop a clear plan to contribute to his community was one of the most rewarding experiences I've had as a mentor.
mentor.sh: What advice would you give to someone just starting their career in strategy or looking to transition into this field?
Strategy is fundamentally about connecting dots—between markets, people, and opportunities. My advice is to embrace the non-linear path. Each role, each industry, each geography teaches you something different about how businesses work and how people behave.
Don't be afraid of transitions. They're not detours; they're the experiences that give you the breadth to see patterns others miss. Whether you're in gaming, finance, mobility, or education—each environment teaches you different aspects of strategy and growth.
Most importantly, start sharing what you learn early. Teaching and mentoring force you to clarify your own thinking and help you build the communication skills that are essential in strategy roles.
About the Mentor
Luiz Fittipaldi is Global Strategy & Planning Manager at Preply and a Strategy Expert with over 10 years of experience in global project management and strategic initiatives. He has been mentoring teams for over 7 years across financial services, technology, and education industries.
Luiz is dedicated to fostering strong, mutually beneficial relationships to align company priorities and ensure successful execution of strategic goals. He focuses on driving long-term growth initiatives and has extensive experience in career development and project-specific mentoring.
As a results-oriented professional, Luiz has worked across multiple continents and industries, bringing a unique perspective to international expansion, go-to-market strategy, and venture scaling.
Connect with Luiz on mentor.sh to learn more about global strategy, international expansion, and career development in strategic roles.
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