Meet Leo Cardoso: People Person, People Leader

Originally from Sao Paulo, Brazil, Land O’Lakes HR superstar Leo thrives in helping his team fulfill their personal and career goals. Milton Leonardo Cardoso moved to the U.S. in junior high. Out of college at UW Madison, he went into research, helping kids get connected to psychological and behavioral studies.

“I liked it, but I wasn’t sure that was for me. I wanted to have that constant interaction with people.”

Leo went back to graduate school for a master’s in human resources and industrial relations and then started as an HR Pathways Intern at Land O’Lakes. Since then, he’s worked as an HR Business Partner supporting our crop inputs and supply chain teams, and then leaned into a new role leading the HR data and special operations teams. Now Leo is the Director of HR Enablement, and he’s been here for over 11 years.

Growth without limits

“In those 11 years, I’ve realized that I’ve had numerous opportunities to be myself and explore different roles without going somewhere else. Land O’Lakes is big enough to have resources, and still feels small enough where you can have a real impact from the very beginning.”

Leo’s career growth is not uncommon here. If you walk the halls of our headquarters campus, meet an agronomist in the field, or visit any of our manufacturing locations, you’ll find folks who have been with Land O’Lakes for 10, 20, 40 years.

Finding opportunity in change

Leo credits his ability to thrive here to being open to new opportunities. Leo led LOL Amigos, our Latin American ERG, for a number of years.

In his current role leading our HR Enablement Team, Leo has to be good at working with ambiguity as the team has to be forward-thinking to prepare our organization for the future, by embracing new technologies and new processes.

“Learning is incredibly important for me. I want to be growing and trying different things,” Leo says.

Creating impact through leadership

One of the first things Leo will tell you is that he feels he really has hit his stride since becoming a people leader. He works to encourage his team to lean in and try new things, just like he was encouraged to do throughout his career.

“I was so excited to become a people leader. I’ve realized that it’s one thing if I do something well and get recognition, but it’s even better when someone on my team is doing something great. It makes me feel good, creating that environment for other people to thrive.”