Rafaela Gontijo

Rafaela Gontijo is the founder and CEO of NUU, a nature-positive food company that regenerates ecosystems while scaling sustainable growth. With extensive experience in sustainability, innovation, and women’s leadership, she has spent over a decade proving that business can be a force for good. Under her direction, NUU became a United Nations “50 Best Small Business,” earned recognition from FoodTech 500 and Forbes 100, and operates as a certified B Corp. Her purpose-driven path began after early corporate experience at Johnson & Johnson and was shaped by her upbringing in Brazil, where the contrast between biodiversity and scarcity led her to create businesses that honor people and the planet. At NUU, she built Brazil’s first circular-economy eco-factory, sourcing 80% of ingredients locally and developing a 100% yucca-based product line grounded in ancestral Amazonian knowledge, modern R&D, and AI.

Rafaela’s leadership extends far beyond company milestones. She mentors global food-systems innovators, co-creates regenerative projects in the Amazon and Cerrado, and champions radical supply-chain transparency. A multidisciplinary artist, she brings creativity and sensitivity to everything she does—drawing, writing, and crafting ceramics. Based in Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, she shares her life with her husband (NUU’s creative director), their identical twin daughters, and their dog Tião. Her personal and professional life reflect the values she holds deeply: regeneration, resilience, and the belief that meaningful change starts at home and expands into the world.