Nomination process for new Petrobras CEO trundles on

Back on May 23, the Brazilian government announced that, yet again, it would be replacing the chief executive officer of oil and gas firm Petrobras. This was the third time President Jair Bolsonaro had jettisoned a CEO of the state-controlled company in connection with rising fuel prices. The current CEO, José Mauro Coelho, lasted just 40 days before the government decided to show him the door.

His replacement, pending approval from the board, is Caio Paes de Andrade, the current Debureaucratization Secretary in the Economy Ministry and a self-described “serial entrepreneur” with no experience in oil and gas.

In the days that followed the announcement, Mr. Andrade’s professional background was scrutinized (and his suitability for the position questioned), the company’s shares tumbled, and Petrobras clarified that the new CEO’s nomination would be “submitted to an internal governance process.”

And then, for nearly three weeks, nothing happened.   

It was not until June 9 that the government presented Petrobras with a list of its nominees to the board of directors – a necessary step to get the ball rolling on Mr. Andrade’s appointment, as replacing Mr. Coelho requires re-appointing all the other board members who were elected alongside him in April.

Mr. Coelho, like his predecessor Joaquim Silva e Luna before him, will not resign from the position of CEO, which means that there are a number of hoops to jump through before Mr. Andrade’s nomination can be confirmed.