RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Brazilian oil giant Petrobras Chief Executive Madga Chambriard said the country’s president had asked her to work to boost the country’s economy while keeping the oil company profitable.
Chambriard, who took over as the state-owned company’s top executive after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva fired the former CEO in May, said at her official ceremony on Wednesday that Petrobras’ vision for Brazil was in line with the president’s priorities.
Chambriard’s position was supported by Lula, who spoke at an event held at Petrobras’ CENPES research center in Rio de Janeiro.
“Nobody wants shareholders to lose a penny,” Lula said. “Nobody wants Petrobras to be a loss-making company.”
Petrobras shares fell last month after Lula fired former CEO Jean-Paul Prates over concerns he would try to install a new CEO who would boost Brazil’s economy at the expense of its shareholders.
To meet Lula’s request, one of Chambriard’s top priorities is to accelerate the company’s $102 billion investment plan for the 2024-2028 period, which she said could potentially create “hundreds of thousands of jobs.”
Last week, Chambriard announced its new management team and appointed three directors with technical expertise and long experience in the country’s public companies.
After Wednesday’s event, Chambriard told reporters she saw no further changes to the company’s senior management team.