Sabrina Ferrari – Hughes do Brasil

When Sabrina Ferrari began her legal career, she never imagined she’d one day help connect millions of Brazilians to the digital world. Today, as vice president of legal and regulatory affairs for Hughes do Brasil, she leads a department at the intersection of law, technology, and social impact—where every contract and regulatory dialogue contributes to bringing reliable internet access to remote regions of the country.

Sabrina Ferrari | Hughes do Brasil | Legal & Regulatory VP

Her path to this point has been anything but linear. What started as a traditional litigation practice evolved into a career defined by innovation, international collaboration, and a deep belief in the power of communication—both human and digital—to transform lives.

From litigation to the corporate world

During law school, Ferrari immersed herself in litigation. It was the most visible and accessible route for a young lawyer in Brazil at the time, and she worked in courtrooms and law firms almost from day one. A brief experience at a company that helped foreign nationals work legally in Brazil gave her a glimpse into what an in-house role might look like, though such positions were rare then.

When she graduated, a law firm where she had interned invited her back to take on a new client in the telecommunications sector—a first for the firm as Brazil was privatizing its telecom industry.

“That was my first contact with that specific regulated market,” she recalls.

It opened her eyes to a field where law, policy, and technology intersected in ways she hadn’t experienced before.

Her first major transition came soon after. A former classmate asked her to replace her at a Chinese multinational company that was just entering Brazil’s telecom equipment market.

“It was an opportunity to use the English I had studied so hard—and to work with the Chinese culture, which was something very new at that time,” Ferrari says.

That move marked her shift from litigator to corporate lawyer and set her on a path that would eventually lead her to Hughes.

A foundation in language and culture

Ferrari’s fluency in English was no accident. Her parents, she says, were visionaries.

“They believed that being fluent in English would be a major differentiator, no matter which career path I chose.”

By the time she turned 15, she had already studied English for nearly a decade and was sent to spend her sophomore year of high school in a small town in Indiana.

She lived with a large, warm host family who helped her navigate American culture and idioms—sometimes literally, by correcting their own children so they wouldn’t pass along slang she wasn’t meant to learn. The experience, she says, was “decisive for my professional choices.” It sharpened her language skills and gave her an understanding of cultural nuance that would later prove invaluable in her work with multinational corporations.

Though she enjoyed litigation, she realized she wasn’t using her English and feared losing fluency. That realization nudged her toward corporate law and, eventually, international business.

Building legal from scratch at Hughes

Hughes do Brasil, the local subsidiary of Hughes Network Systems, provides satellite broadband and managed network services to households, businesses, and governments throughout Brazil. Its mission is simple but transformative: to connect rural and underserved regions where traditional infrastructure cannot reach.

When Ferrari joined Hughes 17 years ago, she was the company’s only lawyer. The opportunity arose unexpectedly after a recruiter contacted her on behalf of what she thought was a law firm. She nearly declined the interview because returning to law offices was not in her plans.

“But when the partner explained that it was actually an in-house position, I remember my eyes lighting up. I thought, ‘This is exactly what I want.’”

Working for an American company felt like a continuation of her exchange student experience.

“The fact that I would be the company’s only lawyer only confirmed something I already knew about myself—that I enjoy building things from scratch and leaving my own mark,” she says.

She immediately began creating order out of chaos, implementing structured procedures for legal requests and aligning local practices with headquarters’ expectations.

“I had many challenges when I started at Hughes,” she recalls, from colleagues misunderstanding the legal department’s scope to balancing compliance with practical realities. Over time, her persistence and clarity earned trust across the organization.

Growing a team and redefining value

Today, Ferrari leads a legal and regulatory department of 11 professionals. But the journey from one person to a fully staffed team was gradual and required consistent advocacy.

“Convincing the organization of the need to increase headcount was—and still is—a learning experience,” she says.

Early on, she realized that many executives viewed legal work narrowly. One even asked her, “Isn’t contract review just sending your comments and then it’s ready to sign?” That comment sparked a turning point. Ferrari began framing her arguments in business terms—quantifying risk, showing how regulatory clarity prevented revenue loss, and demonstrating how legal foresight could accelerate sales.

“Over time, we managed to shift that perception,” she says. “Today, the Legal and Regulatory Departments are recognized as teams that improve sales quality and strengthen the company’s long-term sustainability.”

Her approach reflects Hughes’ broader mission of connection. Whether drafting simplified contracts so rural customers can better understand the technology or collaborating with product and sales teams to accelerate new service launches, Ferrari ensures her department actively supports business growth.

“We are part of that journey,” she says.

Navigating regulation and innovation

The satellite communications industry is heavily regulated, and Ferrari’s relationship with Brazil’s telecom authority, Anatel, and the Ministry of Communications is one of partnership.

“Our relationship with regulators has always been based on transparency and solution-building,” she says. She appreciates that the professionals in those agencies “are genuinely committed to universal connectivity and support competitiveness.”

That collaborative spirit proved essential when Hughes developed a private network product that required navigating unfamiliar regulatory ground.

“The most complex part was truly understanding the environment, since this product was quite different from anything we had dealt with before,” she explains.

Her team engaged new regulatory counterparts, building fresh lines of dialogue and mutual understanding. Internally, the effort also strengthened bonds between legal, regulatory, product, and operations teams—demonstrating the department’s strategic value once again.

This adaptability and curiosity are hallmarks of Ferrari’s leadership style. She encourages her team to never respond with “no” as their first instinct.

“There’s been a kind of natural selection in our team culture,” she says with a smile.

Lawyers who cling to rigid, traditional notions of legal language or who resist collaboration tend not to stay long. Instead, she fosters a mindset of exploration.

To nurture that culture, each team member takes at least one “different” course each year—subjects like digital ethics, product management, or design thinking. One initiative, a chatbot named Jurinha that answered repetitive legal questions, reflected this creative spirit.

“Design Thinking was truly transformative for us,” she says, noting that even though AI eventually outpaced Jurinha, the project embodied their drive to innovate.

Lessons from the saddle

Outside work, Ferrari finds balance through horse jumping, a sport she has practiced for over 18 years.

“Equestrian life constantly teaches me patience and tolerance—not only with others but also, and mainly, with myself,” she says.

After a serious fall in 2018, she considered quitting but instead chose to rebuild her confidence.

“It teaches me to overcome mistakes quickly, stay focused, breathe when nerves tighten, and always look ahead.

For her, the parallels between riding and leadership are clear. Success in both requires trust between rider and horse or leader and team.

“You simply cannot complete a jumping course safely if you don’t have mutual trust with your four-legged partner,” she says. “The same is true in human and professional relationships.”

Giving back and looking ahead

After nearly two decades at Hughes, Ferrari is considering extending her impact beyond the corporate sphere. Serving on the board of a nonprofit organization is the next step she envisions.

“The role of a corporate legal executive, in many ways, prepares me for that—it demands a broad vision, strategic thinking, and the ability to connect different areas,” she explains.

Her interests range from supporting NGOs that help the elderly or stray animals to promoting digital literacy in underserved communities.

“I believe that sharing knowledge is one of the most meaningful ways to give back to society and to honor all that our professional journeys have given us,” she says.

Looking back, Ferrari sees her career as proof that curiosity and courage can turn unexpected opportunities into lasting impact. From her teenage exchange in Indiana to her leadership in one of Brazil’s most transformative industries, she has built a department and a legacy of connection that mirrors Hughes’ mission to bridge distances and empower people, one satellite beam at a time.