Rafael is a lawyer with over eleven years of experience in competition law, commercial law, and regulation, gained on both sides of the counter: inside public authorities and in private practice, across Brazil, the United States, and Europe.
For nearly four years he served as Chief of Staff to a Commissioner of CADE, the Brazilian antitrust authority, handling merger control, cartels, abuse of dominance, and the negotiation of commitments and remedies in significant matters. He also gained experience serving at the Florida Office of the Attorney General, within its Consumer Protection Division, and as an International Fellow at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in its merger review unit. Prior to that, Rafael worked at Pinheiro Neto Advogados, one of Brazil’s leading law firms (Chambers and Partners Law Firm of the Year in Brazil), advising multinational clients on competition law, commercial, corporate, and international trade matters.
In addition, Rafael is currently affiliated with the GW Competition Law Center at The George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C., USA, under the direction of Prof. William Kovacic, former Chairman of the FTC, where he conducts research focusing on competition law, digital regulation and artificial intelligence governance.