Petrobras starts procedure for new CEO appointment

Brazilian oil company Petrobras has received a letter from its controlling shareholder with the appointment of the president and member of the company’s board of directors.

Petrobras said on Thursday that economist Roberto da Cunha Castello Branco has been proposed as the president of the company and board member.

“The indication shall be submitted to corporate governance procedures, including the respective conformity and integrity analyzes necessary for the succession process of the company, with assessment by the Nominating, Compensation and Succession Committee, and by the board of directors and, subsequently, by the shareholders’ general meeting,” the company said.

Castello Branco held management positions at the Central Bank and Vale mining company. After leaving the mining company, he was a member of Petrobras’ board of directors between 2015 and 2016. Branco also served as a director of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV).

Branco is the fifth Petrobras CEO since 2015. The company’s previous CEO’s departed from the role for various reasons, most notably, corruption accusations and protests.

The previous CEO, Ivan de Souza Monteiro, announced on November 19 that he would leave the company on January 1, 2019.

Monteiro took the role in June 2018 following the resignation of Pedro Parente from the position due to widespread protests by truckers in Brazil objecting to Petrobras’ fuel price setting policy.

Parente was named in 2016 by Brazil acting president Michel Temer. He replaced Aldemir Bendine, who took office in February 2015, following the resignation of Maria das Graças Silva Foster, amid corruption accusations.

She was appointed CEO in 2012, as the first-ever female CEO of Petrobras, taking over from Bahian economist José Sergio Gabrielli de Azevedo, who holds the record as the longest serving CEO at the helm of Petrobras, with six years and seven months in office.

Offshore Energy Today Staff