30 November 2015, News Wires – Boss of Brazilian miner Vale not returning to chair at beleaguered state oil giant
Petrobras chairman Murilo Ferreira has quit the post less than a year into the job and following an extended period of leave.
Interim chairman Nelson Guedes de Carvalho is to remain in the position until the Brazilian state giant’s next board meeting, the company said.
Ferreira, who took over from interim chairman Luciano Galvao Coutinho in late April, was in September granted 10 weeks of leave from the position and was due to start back on Monday.
No reason was given at the time for the leave and none was given for his decision to step aside.
However, Ferreira is also chief executive of Brazilian mining giant Vale, which is being battered by low commodity prices and a slow Chinese economy.
When Ferreira went on leave, so too did deputy chairman Clovis Torres Junior, who was also due to return to work on Monday. It is unclear, however, if the latter is returning after the absence.
Guedes was appointed to the Petrobras board in late April when Ferreira took over the role of chairman.
Coutinho, who has been a board member since April 2008, had been appointed chairman in late March to fill in following the resignation of Guido Mantega.
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