Pedro Pullen Parente has been tabbed by Brazil’s acting President Michel Temer to take the role of chief executive officer of state-owned Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras).
He succeeds Aldemir Bendine, who took the position in February 2015 following the resignation of Maria das Gracas Silva Foster and five other senior executives amid a corruption scandal that involved the highest reaches of the Brazilian government (OGJ Online, Feb. 9, 2015).
Parente, currently chairman of Sao Paolo stock market operator BM&F Bovespa, previously served as chief executive officer and president of agribusiness and food giant Bunge Brasil SA from 2010 to 2014.
Petrobras posted a first-quarter net loss of $340 million, attributing it primarily to higher interest costs and negative monetary and exchange rate variations; a 7% reduction in oil and gas production; an 8% decline domestic sales of oil products; an increase in depreciation costs; and higher spending on idle equipment, particularly drilling rigs.
