Joca Teixeira – VP and Director of SSI
From São Paolo, Brazil. Currently living in and loving Washington, DC.
My international career has been shaped by roles at major tech companies like IBM, HP, and Microsoft, where I spent 14 years before joining BSA in 2017. Over the years, I’ve gained experience in enterprise sales, business leadership, and software license management solutions.
I hold a bachelor’s degree in data analytics from Mackenzie University and a specialization in business administration from Fundação Getulio Vargas — both in São Paulo — along with several certifications in business development and process improvement.
What attracted you to work at BSA?
The challenge of helping BSA develop Software Services Inc. (SSI) from its conception into the value-added business that it is today. Over time, SSI has successfully adapted to the needs of the software industry, producing solutions that our members want to acquire to help with their own strategies.
What’s the most unique part about working at BSA?
The ability to impact the software industry globally, serving as a trusted adviser for several BSA members, and understanding their business, strategies, and culture — all while displaying the professionalism and essence of the BSA brand.
What advice can you give someone who just started their career/wants to pursue a similar career?
To anyone who wants to succeed in any career, I’d say: Be intentional! Equip yourself with the hard and soft skill sets to fight as if your life depends on it, because it does. Learn from the mistakes of others whenever possible, but if you’re going to fail, fail fast, learn, and keep evolving until you succeed. Especially to the young Blacks and people of color: Be true to yourself and remember the roots from which you sprang. You’re worth it!
Tell us one fun fact about you (that might surprise your colleagues).
My first name is João Carlos, however, I got nicknamed Joca after my log-in alias (JocaT@) during my internship at IBM in Brazil, where I ultimately worked for four years.
What’s the most meaningful piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Strive for excellence rather than perfectionism.
What’s one thing on your bucket list?
I’d love to take a selfie of Earth from the moon… but as that is unlikely in my lifetime (I guess), I’d be happy to do that from the International Space Station — or something like that — when it’s available in the future ;-).
Favorite book/podcast/long-form article you recommend?
Book: “Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland,” by Christopher R. Browning
It always intrigues me how our individual choices can normalize horror. In this nonfiction book, a squadron of German policemen was ordered to shoot people to death before the assembly line of the Holocaust was operational, with the caveat that its commander had explicitly given his men the option not to participate in the mass executions of Jews. Despite being random, middle-aged reservists with little to no party membership and vague ideological indoctrination, the majority did not avail themselves of the commander’s option not to participate.
If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be and why?
Thomas Jefferson. Talking about history-defining choices, I wonder how differently American history and society might have unfolded had the 168 powerful words condemning slavery been maintained in the Declaration of Independence and not excised at the last minute. Leave the clause in, and the Declaration fails. Take it out, and it succeeds — as it did — but at the cost of casting an entire group of people into a forever state of inequality.
Favorite spot for a coffee meeting?
An open-air cafe at the Pierre Loti Hill in Istanbul, which overlooks the Golden Horn and has beautiful views of the Bosphorus Strait.
Favorite spot in your hometown or current city?
In DC, I love the possibility of diving into the plethora of museums, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture is at the top of my list.
When is the last time you completely unplugged?
During my sabbatical in May 2024, I spent time relaxing in Iguazu Falls on the borders of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay.
How do you unwind after work?
I like reading books and immersing myself in the rich universe that they populate in my head. I’m now reading “Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies,” by Jared M. Diamond.
