MOVES: Board of Brazil Petrobras elects government pick as CEO

HOUSTON (ICIS)–The board of directors of Petrobras elected Joaquim Silva e Luna as the company’s CEO, choosing the nominee picked by the federal government, the state-controlled energy producer said on Friday.

The government had requested that former CEO Roberto Castello Branco be replaced with Silva e Luna, a reserve Army General who had served in the Ministry of Defence in 2014-2019. Recently, he was Brazil’s general board director of Itaipu Binacional, an entity created by the Brazilian and Paraguayan governments to oversee the Itaipu hydroelectric dam.

The government made the request after President Jair Bolsonaro commented about the rise in gasoline and diesel prices in Brazil. He added that something was going to happen to Petrobras.

The credit-rating agency Fitch Ratings noted that the government’s request coincides with mounting social pressure over rising domestic diesel prices.

After the government requested Castello Branco’s replacement, several executives said they did not intend to renew their terms.

The board also elected new executives and re-appointed others who decided to stay.

The following people were elected:

– Rodrigo Araujo Alves as chief financial officer (CFO) and chief investor relations officer. He replaces Andrea Almeida.

– Claudio Rogerio Linassi Mastella as chief trading and logistics officer. He replaces Andre Chiarini.

– Fernando Assumpcao Borges as chief exploration and production officer. He replaces Carlos Alberto Pereira de Oliveira.

– Joao Henrique Rittershaussen as chief production development officer. He replaces Rudimar Lorenzatto.

The following were reappointed:

– Nicolas Simone as chief digital transformation and innovation officer.

– Roberto Furian Ardenghy as chief Institutional relations and sustainability officer.

– Rodrigo Costa Lima e Silva as chief refining and natural gas officer.

Petrobras produces oil, natural gas and refined products. Its refineries provide Brazil’s petrochemical industry with naphtha, which many of its crackers use as feedstock. It also supplies companies with aromatics and propylene.