While the state oil producer of Brazil awaits the election and appointment of a substantive Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Chairman of the Petrobras board of directors has nominated the Chief of Production Development Officer, João Henrique Rittershaussen, as interim CEO.
João Henrique Rittershaussen has a degree in electrical engineering from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, and in petroleum engineering from Petrobras, with an MBA in Business Management from Coppead and an Advanced Management Programme from Insead (Institut Européen d’Administration des Affaires) in France. He has been working at Petrobras for 35 years, holding several managerial positions. He 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 exploration and production and refining and natural gas areas.
The company said the last CEO, Caio Mário Paes de Andrade, resigned Wednesday. He decided to leave the company to serve in the incoming administration of the governor of Brazil’s São Paulo state.
Meanwhile, Petrobras said that it received a letter from the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Brazil, notifying it of the impending nomination of Jean-Paul Terra Prates for the post. Prates is preferred for the role by Brazil’s new President, Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva.
Petrobras said that the nomination, once effected, will be submitted to its internal governance process for the nomination of members of senior management.
