Entrepreneur, community organizer, mentor. City: Toronto and Mississauga. Country of origin: Brazil.
Opportunity knocks
Arnon Melo believes opportunity is everything. He came from Brazil on his own more than 30 years ago and worked survival jobs to make ends meet. He quickly realized that if he wanted to get ahead, he should get a Canadian education.
Supporting himself, he graduated with honours from Seneca College (today, he is on their Professional Advisory Committee!), then landed a paid internship at a multinational shipping company.
A decade later, Melo co-established his own freight forwarding company, MELLOHAWK Logistics. Today, MELLOHAWK is an awardwinning international shipping company with offices in Mississauga, Miami, Sao Paulo and 65 agent partners around the world, and will be expanding to a new location in 2023.
“I wanted to succeed no matter what and I worked very hard to achieve all I have today,” says Melo, who sits on the boards of the Canadian International Freight Forwarding Association and the Abrigo Centre in Toronto.
Melo is passionate about helping others succeed, too, especially other immigrants. “MELLOHAWK is a mini-United Nations with all of our staff, but one, born outside Canada,” he says.
“We’re often the first career job for newcomers. As a former intern, I appreciate the value of creating opportunity and on-the-job training for others.”
Melo is also a regular mentor to trade accelerator programs, helping entrepreneurs grow and internationalize their companies while promoting trade diversity, diversity and inclusion, and the Canadian brand.
“I always believe in giving back to the community that has embraced me,” says Melo, who helped the CONCID, the Brazilian Citizenship Council, repatriate 655 stranded families back to Brazil during the pandemic. “My family always taught me to be kind, but Canada taught me to be ‘actively kind.’”
Looking forward, Melo says he wants to continue mentoring, volunteering and supporting projects that lift people up.
“I want to help others succeed and find their path,” he says. “For me, being a leader means making leaders; providing opportunity is what I want my legacy to be.”
Top Tip:
“My tip would be to be patient and work hard. Canada is a wonderful country that gives wonderful opportunities for those who work hard. Be inclusive and embrace diversity as we live in a multicultural society, and we must respect always all cultures around us. It is in giving respect that we gain respect.” — Arnon Melo
https://canadianimmigrant.ca/canadas-top-25-immigrants/canadas-top-25-immigrants-2022/arnon-melo
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