Member of the International Advisory Board for culture. 

From 2002 to 2018, as Secretary General of FRM, Hugo Barreto led initiatives, in partnership with governments and civil society institutions, aimed at providing large-scale solutions to address the challenges of education in Brazil.

He played a key role in the creation and expansion of Telecurso, both as a distance-learning technology and as a classroom-based methodology recognized by Brazil’s Ministry of Education (MEC), adopted by public school systems in 12 Brazilian states and responsible for educating more than 1.6 million students over the past 20 years. He was also responsible for the conception of Globo Ciência.

He contributed to consolidating Canal Futura as a multi-platform social project that has received more than 100 national and international awards, including the NY Festivals World's Best TV & Films Award, the Caracol de Plata, and the Promax BDA Latin America Award. Available through all subscription TV packages in Brazil and retransmitted on free-to-air television by more than 30 Brazilian university channels, Futura has become a leading communication and education platform, reaching 52 million viewers and 2 million educators, offering free online access through FuturaPlay, and engaging a network of more than 2,000 partner social institutions through on-the-ground mobilization initiatives.

He led the conception and implementation of five museums that have become some of the most visited cultural institutions in Brazil, collectively attracting more than 20 million visitors: the Museum of the Portuguese Language, the Football Museum, MAR – Rio Art Museum, the Museum of Tomorrow, and Paço do Frevo. Recognized for their educational and community engagement programs, accessibility, sustainability, and contributions to local development, these institutions have received more than 30 national and international awards. Among them are the 2016 Leading Culture Destinations Awards—often referred to as the “Oscars of Museums”—awarded to the Museum of Tomorrow, as well as the Darcy Ribeiro and TripAdvisor awards granted to the Museum of the Portuguese Language and the Football Museum as the best museums in Brazil and South America. On behalf of the Foundation, Hugo also led the reconstruction project of the Museum of the Portuguese Language following the fire that severely damaged the institution in 2015.

In addition to overseeing the reconstruction work, exhibition design, and content direction of the new museum, he coordinated traveling exhibitions and cultural programs associated with the Museum of the Portuguese Language throughout Brazil—including FLIP, FLUP, and the Rio and São Paulo Biennials—as well as in Africa, in partnership with public and private organizations in Cape Verde, Angola, and Mozambique.

He served on the Ibero-American Third Sector Council, represented FRM as an observer member of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), and currently serves on the boards of several Brazilian social and cultural organizations. He has been a speaker at leading forums on social investment and culture, including the Social Good Summit (Geneva, 2017), the Skoll World Forum, Communicating the Museum (Paris, 2016), FLIP, FLUP, and Fliaraxá (Brazil, 2017–2018).

From 2004 to 2007, he chaired the Board of GIFE (Group of Institutes, Foundations and Companies), an association that brings together Brazil’s leading private social investors, which collectively invest approximately BRL 3 billion annually in social initiatives.

Earlier in his career, he was a member of TV Globo’s miniseries production unit (1982–1983), where he directed the series “Anarquistas Graças a Deus,” “Avenida Paulista,” and “Nossa Senhora Aparecida” under the supervision of Walter Avancini.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from PUC-Rio and completed an Advanced Management specialization through the PGA Program offered by INSEAD and Fundação Dom Cabral. He also served as a member of the Professional Master’s Program Committee at Fundação Dom Cabral.