Pedro De Abreu

Early life and education

De Abreu was born in Brasilia, Brazil, and grew up on the coastal city of João Pessoa, where he experienced poverty and struggled to get by as a teenager. He moved to America in 2005 without knowing how to speak English. He became fluent in one year and was placed into Advanced Placement classes, including English, European history and psychology. He graduated from Chapin High School and Midlands Technical College before attending the Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina, focusing his work on economics. De Abreu subsequently attended Harvard University, where he attained a master's degree in an emerging scientific field that brings together cognitive neuroscience, developmental cognitive neuroscience, educational psychology, education theory and other related disciplines to explore the interactions between biological processes and practice.

Awards

At Harvard, De Abreu received the prestigious Leadership in Education Award, a merit-based fellowship given to top master's degree candidates with strong leadership potential. De Abreu was a finalist in the 2016 Forbes 30 Under 30 list. De Abreu is South Carolina's New Century Scholar, an award given by Phi Theta Kappa, USA Today and the Coca-Cola Foundation to the state's top student. De Abreu is a Fulbright fellowship finalist, TEDMED delegate, member of the SC-Academic Team, Darla Moore Emerging Leader, City of Columbia Fellow, recipient of the C. Russell Hill Memorial Scholarship for Economics, and also a Leadership Scholar, Walker Institute Scholar and Magellan Scholar. The latter for his research titled "The Development of Empathy, Leadership and Pro-Social Dispositions in Middle-School and High School Age Children: A Case Study of Peer Education and the Anne Frank Story in Brazil."

Government

In April 2014, De Abreu was appointed to serve on the board of directors of the Central Midlands Council of Governments(CMCOG), one of the most influential councils in South Carolina, assisting local governments develop local and regional plans within four midlands counties (Fairfield, Lexington, Newberry, Richland), as well as providing local governments with planning and technical support to improve the quality of life within the regions. CMCOG currently consists of 14 member governments in its board of directors, and serves in excess of 725,000 people.

Nonprofit

In South Carolina, De Abreu started the non-profit Check Mate Foundation, which focuses on teaching chess and leadership to children with disabilities and also to underprivileged children. In an interview in 2011, he said: "Chess is just really a medium through which we try to implement leadership and character... Chess will never be on the SAT. But the patience, analytical skills, the thinking skills, the ability to do those things will be skills that will be forever in demand." In another interview, he stated: "Studies have shown that chess develops logical thinking, improves concentration and promotes imagination, creativity and independence."

Entrepreneur and International speaker

Upon graduating high school, De Abreu moved with two friends to Hollywood, California, and co-founded a multi-media company. As a speaker, he was represented internationally by Sabirul Islam's Teen Speakers International Bureau, which also represented SuperJam founder Fraser Doherty.

De Abreu has spoken in countries like Dubai, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain and Brazil. De Abreu has also spoken at TEDx.

Author

In 2011, De Abreu published his first book, detailing the hardships he had to overcome in Brazil due to the lack of opportunity, and in America for not being able to speak English on his arrival, as well as practical steps one can take to achieve success. Author Scott Simson said that his book is "a must read for anyone wanting to advance their life." De Abreu is currently writing a new title on science and human potential.

De Abreu writes a monthly column for Richard Branson's Virgin on the topics of science, innovation, entrepreneurship, and public speaking.

In 2012, De Abreu was featured on Young Entrepreneur World: How 25 Teen-Trepreneurs Succeeded and Left World Leaders Scratching Their Heads, published by British publisher Marshall Cavendish, a subsidiary company of Times Publishing Group, the printing and publishing subsidiary of Singapore-based conglomerate Fraser and Neave.

14x Innovation Group (14X IG)

Upon graduating from Harvard, De Abreu started, and currently serves as the CEO of, 14X IG, an innovation management consulting practice. Drawing upon a variety of tools and research from psychology, neuroscience, human development, and the case method, 14x Innovation Group helps organizations drastically enhance efficiency.

Academia

De Abreu is a Co-Instrutor and teaching fellow at Harvard University. He facilitates the Management Development Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the Mind, Brain, Behavior Interfaculty Thesis Workshops for graduating seniors at Harvard College. De Abreu is the Director of the Artificial Intelligence, Brain, and Cognitive Sciences thematic at the Future Society at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Television

De Abreu hosted a biweekly segment on WLTX, a CBS-affiliated television station, called The Motivational Minute, on motivation, leadership and entrepreneurship.