Petrobras Begins Appointment Procedure for New CEO of State-Owned Company

Petrobras Received a Letter from Its Controlling Shareholder with the Indication of the Company’s President and Board Member

Petrobras said on Thursday that economist Roberto da Cunha Castello Branco is officially appointed as the company’s president and board member. “The nomination will be submitted to corporate governance procedures, including the necessary compliance and integrity analyses for the company’s succession process, with evaluation by the Nomination, Remuneration and Succession Committee, and the board of directors, and subsequently by the general assembly of shareholders,” the company stated.

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

Branco is the fifth CEO of Petrobras since 2015. The company’s previous CEO left the position for various reasons, primarily allegations of corruption and protests.

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

Monteiro took office in June 2018, following the resignation of Pedro Parente due to widespread truck driver protests in Brazil, contesting Petrobras’ fuel pricing policy.

Parente was appointed in 2016 by Brazil’s interim president, Michel Temer. He replaced Aldemir Bendine, who took office in February 2015, following the resignation of Maria das Graças Silva Foster amid allegations of corruption.

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