Carolina Perez

Founder

Carolina was born an explorer, sharing the travel spirit with her mother Teresa – her inspiration and with whom she worked side by side for 16 years at Teresa Perez Tours in São Paulo.
Carolina set off solo in 2009 when she founded Travelweek Sao Paulo and some years later it was acquired by ILTM Reed Exhibitions.

After a sabbatical period, she was ready to start a new venture. In 2016 in Verona, profoundly inspired by the opera Nabucco from Giuseppe Verdi, Carolina came up with DUCO Italy. DUCO was born aiming to uncover the beauty of Italy and its traditions.
A destination oriented initiative focused on the high end travels, in a boutique event format.

Along the past 5 years DUCO’s distinctive format caused a very positive impact in the upscale tourism in Italy.

In 2021, DUCO sets new ground expanding its mission towards France - a land full of history, bravery and notorious for its hospitality excellence.
DUCO France keeps its launch during daunting times revealing the audacity and courage that distinguish the French spirit.

Born and raised in São Paulo, Carolina is a world traveler and a dual Brazilian-Italian citizen. She takes great joy in creating and contributing to tourism in Italy and France.

Carolina lives in Lisbon, enjoys family time cycling and being by the ocean and in the mountains with her husband, daughter, son, and three stepchildren.

Camila Mendes

Vice President

While Camila was studying for her degree in communication and advertising, she began her journey in the tourism industry as a marketing intern for Teresa Perez Tours.

Her passion for event planning was sparked when she joined Carolina´s new venture, Travelweek Sao Paulo, and then stayed on for five years after it was acquired by Reed Exhibitions, at ILTM events portfolio.
Camila and Carolina’s stars crossed once again when, after a period of self-discovery through astrology, Camila joined DUCO in March 2019.

Methodical and bossy, Camila enjoys leading from behind the scenes. But when it’s time to relax, she appreciates reading, spinning, chocolate and champagne!

Duna Della Santa

Exhibitor Relations

Born just a few meters from the sea, in a small fisherman´s village in the northeast of Brazil, she spent her first year barefoot and making sand castles on the beach. What inspired her parents to name her “Duna” were the infinite sand dunes that surrounded them.

Half Brazilian, half American, Duna lived in Sao Paulo most of her life, and her love for travelling and hospitality instigated her to get a degree in hotel management.

After working for many years with events at a Brazilian-Italian family’s hotel brand, she decided to fulfill her life-long dream and travelled to Florence, where she lived for almost 03 years working with tourism.

Daily espressos, morning cornettos, and delicious wine tastings are what brought her to DUCO. Back in São Paulo, Duna aspired to keep close contact with the Italian culture, as well as to incorporate France to her wanderlust.

During her free time, you will probably find Duna sunbathing at the beach, reading a book, out dancing with her friends, or researching maps in a quest to find new cultures and places on the globe to visit.

Isadora Piccoli

Exhibitor Relations

Isadora was born and raised in the big metropolis of São Paulo, in a family of Italians and Portuguese’s descendants, a home always full of love, art and food!

At a very young age Isadora was taught the beauty of travelling and learning new cultures. Graduated in International Relations and specialized in Cultural Management, her career passed through foreign trade and planning art exhibitions until she found the high-end tourism niche and has been working within that since 2017. Having experienced different areas in the market and lived in Brazil, United States, France, Morocco and now Portugal, Isadora have joined DUCO bringing everything she learned in her suitcase.

Isadora is a true urban, so you’ll probably meet her in a Nouvelle Vague’s movie section, an art opening or, as a good foodie, in a trendy restaurant. If you want to invite her to do something, she never says no to brunch!

Lara Sarkis

Exhibitor Relations

Born and raised in Goiânia, near the capital of Brazil, Lara always felt there was more to see and explore. So when she moved to São Paulo, a vibrant city full of life, she made it home.

She believes that culture and travel are areas that truly transform and enrich every human being. People are never the same after visiting a new destination or seeing an impressive exhibition.

After graduating in Marketing and Advertising, she started working in a travel agency focused on upscale knowledge trips and immediately fell in love with the travel industry.

Since 2009, she has been working in different areas of the market, from a representation company to some of the best travel agencies in Brazil and also had the chance to live in Istanbul for a while.

Curious about other cultures and motivated by new adventures, Lara joined DUCO with the desire of crafting wonderful experiences.

When not exploring a new coffee spot, an interesting exhibition or simply meandering around the streets, you can find Lara enjoying the nature, in the countryside or by the sea, with her husband and her son.

Vanessa Kitamura

Exhibitor Relations Administrative

Vanessa is a Sansei, a third-generation Brazilian of Japanese descent. She remembers visiting her father in Japan at the age of seven and how that journey across cultures and continents sparked a passion for travel.

After graduating with a degree in tourism, she started her career working in a hotel before joining Teresa Perez Tours where for eight years she organized once-in-a-lifetime vacations.

She recently came on board the DUCO team and is keen to fulfill her dream of exploring Italy.

Cíntia Kobayashi

Exhibitors Relations Administrative

Natália Schwarz

Marketing

Born and raised in a small town in the Brazilian countryside, Natalia got the travel bug when she was quite young, influenced by her parents who didn’t miss a chance to hit the road.

These unique childhood experiences inspired her to get a degree in Tourism. Inside her luggage you will now find 10+ years’ experience in luxury hospitality, working as a travel agent, designing the most incredible journeys for her clients.

Natalia lives in Ireland, loves the nature and is always up for an adventure! Fun fact: she collects lots of sunset photographs (her favorite time of the day) of her travels all over the world.

Melony van der Merwe

Buyer Relations

Melony, a South African native, built her expertise and relationships over the past 16 years by designing private journeys, building community for discerning travelers to Africa, and marketing iconic boutique luxury hotels and safari lodges to the travel trade.

Based in the USA since 2006, Melony will assist DUCO in selecting and qualifying the next generation of travel agents to attend DUCO events.

Hailing from a small town in the Winelands of South Africa, this University of Stellenbosch alumnus and former national volleyball player loves to travel to off-the-beaten-path places, and like her San ancestors, she is a nomad by nature. Although passionate about traveling to discover, Melony feels most at home in her kitchen.

Milena Calzoni

Buyer Relations

The travel bug bit Milena early. As a kid, she spent her holidays traveling to Italy and United States to visit relatives. Not surprisingly, she decided to study Hospitality Management in college. Since then, she had had fantastic experiences working on the luxury travel market, from international hotel chains to a French OTA.

Milena lived in 9 different countries and speaks 5 languages - currently on a mission to learn her 6th language! You can really say she is a citizen of the world.

A Brazilian living in Barcelona, Milena assists DUCO in selecting the top travel advisors to attend the summit.

Lucilene Neves

Finance Director

Born and raised in the vibrant São Paulo, carrying the warm Brazilian soul and a big smile on her face.

Lucilene has a brilliant background in Accounting and MBA in business management, using numbers and spreadsheets to develop prosperous businesses.

For 10 years as a Finance Consultant, she made a great career. After living in the US for a while she decided to make a bold move and joined the high-end tourism industry working for Travelweek Sao Paulo, then as Finance Manager of the Luxury portfolio at ILTM Reed Exhibitions for more than six years.

Nowadays, Lucilene is DUCO's Finance Director and her purpose of life is to make meaningful changes in people's life and travel the world!

Adriana Percussi

Event Planner