Petrobras Chairman calls it quits

Petrobras has informed that Guido Mantega, a former Brazilian finance minister, resigned from his position as member and Chairman of Petrobras Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors, in a meeting held yesterday, March 26, approved, by majority vote, the election of Board member Luciano Galvão Coutinho as Chairman of the Board, replacing Guido Mantega.

The Board did not elect a new member.

Luciano Galvão Coutinho has been a member of Petrobras Board of Directors since April 2008. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Petrobras Distribuidora S.A. and has been the President of the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) since April 2007.

This election, as stated in Brazilian law 6.404 and in the company’s bylaws, is valid until the next Shareholders Meeting.

According to Reuters, Coutinho is a close ally of President Dilma Rousseff, whom he taught economics, and is a supporter of her economic policy.

Due to a widening corruption scandal around the company, Petrobras CEO Maria das Graças Silva Foster and five other executives recently resigned. Petrobras later named Aldemir Bendine as its new CEO.