Duo stepping in to steady the ship at Galp until new CEO is picked

Portugal’s oil and gas company Galp has appointed two board members as interim Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) following the resignation of the firm’s previous leader.

Galp’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Maria João Carioca, and Commercial Executive Vice-President (EVP), João Diogo Marques da Silva, are set to take over as interim co-chairs of the Executive Committee (CEO), accumulating both functions. This follows last week’s resignation of former CEO, Filipe Silva.

“Maria João’s professional seniority and solid financial acumen, combined with João Diogo’s deep integration into our business culture and decades of dedicated service, create a balanced and powerful partnership. I am confident that this co-leadership will drive our Company forward whilst maintaining a well-defined strategic path,” noted Paula Amorim, Chairwoman of Galp’s board of directors.

According to Galp, Georgios Papadimitriou, Ronald Doesburg, and Rodrigo Vilanova will continue holding their functions as EVP Renewables and New Businesses, EVP Industrial, and EVP Energy Management, respectively, at the firm’s Executive Committee.

Furthermore, Nuno Holbech Bastos, former Director of Galp’s Strategy and M&A division, will join the board of directors and the Executive Committee to oversee the Upstream division at the board level. This will be submitted for ratification by the shareholders at the next annual general meeting.

Apart from shifts in management, at the end of December, the Portuguese firm found more light oil and gas condensate in the second well within its current exploration and appraisal (E&A) program in license PEL 83 offshore Namibia. The well was spud using Saipem’s Santorini drillship.