When Marcelo Claudino began working in the financial sector in 2000 for Prudential Financial’s Brazilian insurance operation, he never imagined that one day he would work with professional athletes around the world. But Claudino, a native of Brazil, saw a need and stepped in to fill it. “I found out that my clients had broader needs in their financial education than only advice on their life insurance policies.”
So in 2008, he launched TopConsulting to provide financial and investment advising. One of his first clients was a Brazilian Olympic volleyball champion. “We became close friends and her referrals were paramount for us to have other volleyball athletes as TopConsulting’s clients. Very quickly we were able to build a good reputation and many other athletes started to get in touch with us,” says Claudino.
In 2013, he launched a second company with a more niche focus: TopSoccer, providing financial, legal, and tax advising to Brazilian soccer players. TopSoccer has grown quickly, and today boasts 60 clients in seven different countries, including the U.S., China, and Portugal.
Claudino, who has a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering, felt he needed additional education to prepare him to work in the global sports industry. Wanting to earn a degree from an American university, he was attracted to the Master of Education -Sport Administration program because of the reputation of the University of Miami as well as its faculty. He completed the program in 2017.
While the online format was necessary due to Claudino’s jet-setting work schedule, he was pleased to have the opportunity to visit the Coral Gables campus during the University of Miami’s annual Sport Industry Conference where he meets his mentors and gets more one-on-one information about college sports. He was also invited to join the University’s new Sport Industry Leadership Council (SILC), launched by Professor Warren A. Whisenant, Chair of the Department of Exercise and Sport Sciences last fall.
By participating in SILC, which will offer mentoring opportunities among other initiatives, Claudino hopes to help students in several ways: “First, by sharing our experience, those things we can only learn when you have worked in the industry. Second, by providing insights and shortcuts to help them pave their own roads. Finally, by providing opportunities to University of Miami students in South America.”
He believes that the MSED in Sport Administration degree is more valuable than ever. “The program is strongly connected to what happens in sports industry now, globally speaking.”
To find out more about the MSED in Sport Administration program and how it can benefit sport careers for graduates all over the world, speak with an enrollment advisor at 800-411-2290 or visit the site for more information.
