With a civil engineering degree from the Federal University of Paraná and seven years at Military College behind him, Haroldo Jacobovicz entered the professional sector during the 1980s with a focus on information technology rather than construction or infrastructure projects. This direction contrasted with his family’s engineering background, as his mother Sarita ranked among Paraná’s initial seven female civil engineers while his father Alfredo combined professional practice with university instruction.
Growing up as the eldest of four siblings, Haroldo Jacobovicz developed interests in emerging markets and technologies. His regular engagement with newspapers and magazines about worldwide developments shaped his perspective on commercial possibilities. In 1983, he collaborated with three partners who had computer backgrounds to launch Microsystem before finishing his university studies. The venture developed automation systems for retail establishments, focusing on inventory tracking and cash register technology for pharmacies, stores, and supermarkets. The business closed after two years when prospective clients demonstrated insufficient readiness to implement computerized operations, providing formative lessons about market timing.
His subsequent employment at Esso came after successful competition against more than 200 engineering applicants through testing and group evaluation procedures. Within the multinational oil company, his career advanced through various functions, starting from reserve sales duties and progressing to market analysis responsibilities for Brazil’s southern region. He ultimately managed commercial tactics and new business initiatives at the Rio de Janeiro headquarters, with work emphasizing computer-processed data analysis. Pressure from the Cruzado Plan’s fuel price controls, alongside personal factors regarding family distance, influenced his exit from the multinational corporation.
He then took a position advising the Technical Director at Itaipu Hydroelectric Plant in Paraná. Working within this state-owned facility revealed how bureaucratic requirements for permanent asset acquisition hindered computer technology adoption in public organizations. After four years at the hydroelectric plant, Haroldo Jacobovicz resumed private entrepreneurship with experience drawn from both multinational and public sector contexts.
Minauro was established to offer computer equipment through rental arrangements instead of traditional purchases. The company structured four-year contracts with equipment upgrades every 18 months, incorporating maintenance services. Public agencies across southern and southeastern Brazil awarded contracts to the company for this approach. Growth occurred through acquiring three firms—Consult, Perform, and Sisteplan—which brought software products for tax, financial, administrative, health, and education management. These acquisitions formed the e-Governe Group, maintaining service relationships with Brazilian municipal governments.
Horizons Telecom was founded in 2010 to serve corporate telecommunications needs. Developed with Renato Guerreiro, an electrical engineer who had served as Anatel’s first president, the company gained market recognition over approximately ten years before being purchased by an investment consortium in early 2021.
Following the telecommunications transaction, he created Arlequim Technologies to focus on computer virtualization. The company provides performance enhancement for older computing equipment through remote resources, serving corporate clients, government entities, and individual consumers including gaming users, delivering modern capabilities without requiring hardware replacement.