Petrobras Board confirms Bolsonaro’s presidential nominee

The board of directors of Petrobras confirmed this Monday (27) the appointment of Caio Paes de Andrade to the presidency of the company. He was also elected to integrate the collegiate, a precondition for him to head the state-owned company.

As a result, Paes de Andrade is ready to take over the company. Oil workers, however, are still trying to block the appointment and, this Monday, announced a complaint to the CVM (Securities Commission) against the executive’s approval.

Three councilors voted against the nomination: Francisco Petros, Marcelo Mesquita and the employee representative, Rosângela Buzanelli. Chairman of the committee that evaluates the CVs of the nominees, Petros had already voted for the rejection of the name last Friday (24).

According to the minutes of the meeting, the counselor said that Paes de Andrade’s curriculum is “far short of Petrobras’ governance and management needs.” Like the unions, Petros alleges that Paes de Andrade does not meet the requirements established by the company’s statute.

Based on the State-owned Companies Law, the statute requires compatible academic training and ten years’ experience in companies in the same sector or similar in size to Petrobras. Paes de Andrade has a degree in social communication and made a career in a technology company.

“The most constant experience over time and relevant from the point of view of the formation of the candidate’s managerial knowledge was carried out in companies whose complexity is substantially less than that of Petrobras”, said Petros, in his vote.

At the meeting, Petrobras’ Human Resources area defended that the rule “is flexible and allows the interpretation that, although it is desirable that experience be in the business or in a related area, it is not mandatory, the criterion being met with proof of the ten years of leadership experience”.

Based on this interpretation, the other three members of the committee, Luiz Henrique Caroli, Ana Silvia Matte and Tales Bronzato, said they did not see any barriers to the appointment of Paes de Andrade.

Shortly before this Monday’s meeting, oil workers’ unions staged a demonstration in front of one of the buildings used by the state-owned company in downtown Rio de Janeiro. They see the appointment as part of an effort to privatize the company.

As part of the strategy to veto the executive, Anapetro (National Association of Petroleum Workers Minority Shareholders of Petrobras) to ask the CVM to investigate possible irregularities in the name analysis process.

“The illegality of Mr. Caio de Andrade’s training violates two legal requirements provided for in the State-Owned Companies Law”, says the complaint, made by the law firm Advocacia Garcez.

“This fact could give rise to the realization of actions through minority shareholders, generate instability and unwanted fluctuation in the company’s capital market. These elements would be: professional experience and academic training.”

Paes de Andrade will be the fourth president of Petrobras in the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government. He replaces José Mauro Coelho, fired by the President of the Republic a little over a month after taking office, amid pressure against fuel price increases.

Before Coelho, Bolsonaro had already fired General Joaquim Silva e Luna and Roberto Castello Branco, the first executive to command the state-owned company in his government. In all cases, the layoffs were motivated by rising prices.

In response to the internal committee that evaluated his name, however, Paes de Andrade said that he did not receive any guidance from the government to change the fuel price policy.