"I was invited by Minister Orlando Silva, of the Sports Ministry, to bring together the organization that is being set up to coordinate the government's actions concerning the 2016 Olympic Games. Embratur participated actively in the process of capturing the Olympics for Rio and it is an honor and a marvelous challenge to work to bring about the first Olympics to be held in Brazil and in South America," said Jeanine Pires.

Pires was the first woman to assume the presidency of Embratur, and has held the position since 2006. From 2003 to 2006, she was Director of Business Tourism and Events for the institution.

"During my eight years of work, Brazil developed and established great credibility in the world tourism market, with operators, travel agents and the international press,” said Jeanine Pires. “The strong partnership and support we received from the state and municipal tourism departments and from private enterprise in Brazil were essential in building that credibility and in building Brazil's image of professionalism. "

Pires was instrumental in implementing a marketing plan for international tourism, the Aquarela Plan, positioning Brazil as a leading destination in 15 of the 21 countries given priority for international promotion. Under her tenure, foreign currency spending by foreign tourists in Brazil more than doubled. As a result, tourism is now second on the list of the country`s service exports. She aimed to communicate to all tourists that Brazil is a modern country with great natural, cultural and ethnic diversity. Not only did Pires help transform the leisure travel segment, but business travel as well. From 2003 to 2009, the country increased twelve places in the ranking of countries that host international events.

Jeanine Pires and Mario Moyses are committed to making this a smooth transition over the next couple months.