After CEO steps down, interim one taking the reins at Petrobras

Following the resignation of its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Brazil’s state-owned energy giant Petrobras has named an interim CEO, who will be at the helm until the election and inauguration of a new CEO.

Back in December 2022, Petrobras reported that its CEO, Caio Mário Paes de Andrade, who was appointed to this role in June 2022, accepted the invitation from Tarcísio de Freitas to be a member of the next São Paulo state government staff.

At the time, the Brazilian state-owned giant explained that Paes de Andrade would continue working as the CEO in the weeks ahead, thus, he would not participate in the transition in São Paulo.

“As CEO of Petrobras, he will continue to give exclusive attention to the change of command that will take place in the company, collaborating together with the other executive officers for a professional, transparent and adherent transition to the good governance rules,” elaborated the firm.

The company followed up on this on Tuesday, 3 January 2023 to reveal that the Ministry of Mines and Energy had sent a letter, informing that Jean-Paul Terra Prates would be nominated for the CEO position at Petrobras. In addition, he was also expected to be nominated as a member of the firm’s board of directors.

Petrobras highlighted that the nomination, once effective, would be submitted to “the internal governance process, observing the Policy for the Nomination of Members of the Senior Management, for the analysis of the legal, management and integrity requirements and subsequent manifestation of the Eligibility Committee.”

In an update on Wednesday, the Brazilian player disclosed that its board of directors, in a meeting held on 4 January 2023, had approved the early termination of Caio Mário Paes de Andrade’s term as the CEO of Petrobras, which became effective that day. Paes de Andrade also resigned as a member of the company’s board of directors.

Due to the vacancy in the CEO position, the Chairman of the board of directors nominated João Henrique Rittershaussen, the current Chief of Production Development Officer, as interim CEO of the company, until the election and inauguration of a new CEO.

Rittershaussen, who has been working at Petrobras for 35 years in several managerial positions, served as Executive Manager, occupying the Executive Management of Surface Systems and in November 2018 became Executive Manager of Surface Systems, Refining, Gas and Energy, an area responsible for the construction of the company’s new assets in the E&P and RGN areas.

When it comes to Petrobras’ recent activities, it is worth noting that the Brazilian giant put into operation its new FPSO P-71 in December 2022, ahead of the expected start of production in 2023.