After building a sucessful career in the pharmaceutical industry, working as a n executive at three major global companies (Eli Lilly, Bristol Myers-Squibb, and Johnson & Johnson), Zito moved to the academic arena. He was Dean of the College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University as well as Chief Global Officer. Subsequently he was named Chancellor of the University of North Carolina Wilmington, North Carolina.
In 2023 he released his autobiography “Giving Flight to Imagination” in the USA and in August of 2025 made it available in portuguese in Brazil with the title “Dando Asas à Imaginação”. Even though living far away from his native country, Zito has always kept his affection and bond to the city which he visits often.
Seeing the decay of the school, closed in 2022 for the lack of suitable conditions to serve as a school, and realizing its architectural importance to the city and to its people, he decided to lead and sponsor its restoration. He invited relatives and friends with experience in restoration, business and finance to assist with the entire process, creating our Association with the specific goal of “restoring” the “Escola Coronel” and giving it back to the city.