Jose Carlos Hauer Santos Jr

Jose Carlos Hauer Santos Jr started his professional life at the age of 16, at his family-owned engineering company. At the age of 20, he founded his first company, a travel agency dedicated to serving business travellers. In 1986, he bought ‘Student Travel Bureau’ (STB), then a modest travel company dedicated to international youth and student travellers.

During the past 33 years, Jose Carlos has turned STB into a flourishing global travel business, growing the company from a single office with 7 staff to one of the world’s largest travel companies, employing more than 500 full-time staff in 70 different locations.

Outside Brazil, STB owns and operates travel companies in Australia, New Zealand and Argentina. In the USA, STB enjoys a thriving joint venture with market leader Berlitz.

Mr Hauer Santos has served on the Boards of numerous travel associations, both regionally and internationally. He is presently Chairman of the Executive Committee of WYSETC (World Youth and Student Educational Travel Confederation), the industry’s global leadership organisation, headquartered in Amsterdam.

He is an experienced strategic planner and business developer, eager to share his global vision and entrepreneurial skills with others.