Walter Moreira Sales

Walter Moreira Salles, also Walther Moreira Salles (May 28, 1912 – 2001), was a Brazilian banker, politician and philanthropist, considered as one of the founders of the modern Brazilian banking industry. Career Moreira Salles was born in 1912 in Pouso Alegre, Minas Gerais. He graduated from the Faculty of Law of Largo de São Francisco, University of São Paulo. In 1926 his father, João Moreira Salles, established the Casa Bancária Moreira Salles (Moreira Salles Banking House) in the town of Poços de Caldas, around north-west of Pouso Alegre, and Walter was made an acting partner in 1933 at the age of 21. In 1940, Banco Moreira Salles merged with three regional banks, eventually changing its name to União de Bancos Brasileiros (Unibanco). Moreira Salles implemented a series of successful acquisitions and an emphasis on human resources, helping to make Unibanco one of Brazil's top three banking institutions. In 1991, Moreira Salles retired as chairman of the board after a 60-year career to become honorary chairman, taking over the conglomerate's cultural activities. In 1990-91 Moreira Salles launched the Instituto Moreira Salles (IMS), a nonprofit organization whose goal is to promote the development of cultural projects in five areas: photography, literature, libraries, visual arts and Brazilian music. Moreira Salles became the first President of the Instituto. A year later IMS opened the Casa de Cultura de Poços de Caldas, in the city where Casa Moreira Salles was founded. The organization now has cultural centres in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Poços de Caldas and Belo Horizonte, and four galleries, in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba and Porto Alegre.