Luiz Vieira of Wise on building inclusive workplaces, trans rights in Brazil, and the power of lived experience

“My goal has always been to turn my personal journey of understanding into a platform for advocacy and inclusion.” Luiz Vieira spoke to myGwork about his journey from growing up in Belo Horizonte to leading a team at Wise, and how his lived experience as a queer professional shapes his advocacy for inclusion. In this interview, he reflects on his career path, his evolving relationship with the LGBTQ+ community, and the importance of building inclusive workplaces. He also highlights the urgent need to support trans communities, particularly in Brazil, through meaningful corporate action.

Could you tell me a bit about your background and career journey leading up to your current position at Wise?

I started my career getting a degree in International Relations, and while completing my degree, I worked in high-pressure airport operations across check-in, gates, and lost luggage. Dealing with a high volume of international travelers taught me how to manage complex customer situations under pressure, but I eventually wanted to pivot into the FinTech space.

This led me to Wise in Estonia, where I joined the Latin American Customer Support team using my Portuguese, Spanish, and English skills. After a year, I became fascinated by the investigative side of the business and transitioned into the KYC department. I’ve since progressed from Associate to Senior Analyst, and I now lead a team of senior analysts solving complex cases, specifically focused on supporting our growth in Brazil. It’s been 5 months since I relocated back from Estonia to Brazil.

Can you tell me about your childhood – where did you grow up; did you have any hobbies?

I grew up in a favela in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in a household where my parents—a housemaid and a mailman—prioritised our education above everything else. Despite limited resources, they invested in a computer in the early 2000s, which opened up the world to me and my three siblings. They instilled a belief that academic excellence, and a window into the world beyond my dangerous neighborhood, was the key to global opportunities.

Driven by a fascination with different cultures and languages, I taught myself English and was later mentored by a teacher in Spanish. This self-directed upbringing turned my hobbies—like studying, reading, watching documentaries and learning languages—into a professional toolkit. It gave me the grit and the “outsider’s perspective” that eventually led me to move abroad and build a career in international operations.

Can you share your personal journey with the LGBTQ+ community?

I grew up in a very conservative, religious environment where LGBTQIA+ identities were deeply stigmatised. This created a lot of internal conflict for me during the 2000s, especially as the movement for equality began gaining momentum in Brazil. While I initially carried the biases of my upbringing, my perspective shifted through lived experience.

In school, I often felt isolated and faced bullying for “not being like the other boys.” Interestingly, the people who showed me the most kindness and support—helping me with studies and offering friendship—were queer individuals. This humanised the community for me in a way my upbringing hadn’t, and I realised we shared the same fundamental humanity.

By the time I reached high school, I transformed that realisation into action. At 17, I secretly began (my family couldn’t know) advocating for human rights and eventually stepped into a leadership role within the student movement, focusing on anti-bullying and LGBTQIA+ rights in my city. I’ve carried that proactive mindset into my professional life at Wise. When I recognised an opportunity to better connect our queer workforce and ensure our product evolves to meet the needs of the community, I stepped up as a community representative. My goal has always been to turn my personal journey of understanding into a platform for advocacy and inclusion.

What has been a standout moment in your career so far?

A defining moment in my career was when I felt empowered to step into a Team Lead role, knowing that being an openly queer professional would be seen as an asset rather than a barrier. Achieving that level of psychological safety allowed me to lead with authenticity, ensuring that my focus remained entirely on team performance and inclusive growth.

This culminated in a significant highlight in 2025, when I was asked to represent Wise as a public speaker during the Pride March in Tallinn. Being the voice of the company at such a high-profile event was not only a personal milestone but a testament to the inclusive culture we’ve built. It allowed me to bridge the gap between our corporate values and the community, advocating for representation on a global stage.

How does Wise strive for inclusivity and provide an open space for LGBTQ+ employees?

What truly sets the environment at Wise apart is the genuine space provided for every employee to bring their authentic selves to work. In my career, I’ve found this level of systemic inclusion to be quite rare – it’s a standard that many organisations strive for, but few actually achieve.

The culture here isn’t passive; it’s intentional. The workforce is actively trained to mitigate both conscious and unconscious biases, which creates a foundation of psychological safety. This allows for open, respectful dialogue to happen naturally, whether we are in a formal roundtable discussion or a casual community gathering.

For me, working in an environment that prioritises these values isn’t just a benefit—it’s a catalyst for better collaboration and innovation.

Throughout your career, have you noticed any developments in attitudes towards the importance of diversity and inclusion?

In a disruptive fintech like Wise, we challenge the traditional financial system, and I believe that also extends to how we structure the workplace itself. Inclusion is a strategic necessity in this context; when you bring together people with diverse lived experiences and unique needs, they naturally develop innovative solutions for a wider range of global challenges and diverse customer needs.

Ultimately, building a more democratic and accessible product is a direct result of fostering diversity and inclusion internally. By ensuring our workforce reflects the world we serve, we ensure that our product remains relevant, equitable, and capable of solving real-world problems for everyone.

What immediate improvements would you like to see being made for LGBTQ+ equality in the future – both in the workplace, and wider society?

While we’ve made significant strides in LGBTQIA+ inclusion, there is still urgent work to be done, particularly regarding the transgender community. In Brazil, the statistics are stark: systemic exclusion means that approximately 90% of trans women face housing instability and barriers to completing their education, often leaving them with no choice but to rely on prostitution for survival.

I believe in today’s age, it’s a company’s responsibility to bridge this gap and make an impact. We need to create pathways that bring trans individuals into the formal workforce, providing the stability and dignity that come with professional development. By intentionally opening our doors and removing these historical blockers, we aren’t just diversifying our teams—we are participating in a vital movement toward social equity and human dignity.

Wise is a proud partner of myGwork, the LGBTQ+ business community. Find out more about LGBTQ+ inclusive job opportunities at Wise.