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The mandate of the new CEO of Vale (ELECTION 3), Gustavo Pepper, was brought forward to start on October 1st and no longer in January, as planned, shows a relevant fact sent on the night of last Friday (20).
- Read more: Now it's time, Vale (VALE3)? Find out if it's time to buy shares after the appointment of the new CEO. Click here to read
In the document, the company thanked Eduardo Bartolomeo, who had been at the helm of the company since 2019.
“Under Eduardo’s leadership, Vale has managed to make significant progress in its cultural transformation, with
guidance for the safety of people and operations, for risk management and for the integrity of assets”, he says.
Furthermore, the company highlights that it has adopted a pioneering dam decommissioning program, implementing the best global standards for the management of tailings containment structures.
Bartolomeo replaced Fabio Schvartsman after the Brumadinho tragedy. The executive had been with the company since 2011 and held several leadership positions before becoming CEO.
Vale also reported that it approved the appointment, on an interim basis, of Murilo Muller, current global director, to the position of executive vice president responsible for the areas of finance and investor relations, a position that Pimenta held, starting on October 1 and ending until December 31, 2024.
Suffocation and relief: How was Vale's succession?
The succession for Vale's new CEO was marked by intense discussions. At first, the shareholders did not reach an agreement on the name, which forced the company to postpone the choice until December.
In the meantime, there were attempts by the President Lula to launch Guido Mantegaformer Finance Minister, to the position. Because of this, Vale announced restrictions on the profile of the new CEO, as a way to avoid new political pressure.
According to the CNNamong the names that appeared on possible lists of nominees were Francisco Gomes Neto (Embraer), Gustavo Werneck (Gerdau), Carlos Piani (Equatorial), Cristiano Teixeira (Klabin), Mauricio Bhar (Engie) and Antonio Maciel Neto (Caoa).
According to a column by Lauro Jardim,The GlobeDario Durigan, the minister's trusted name Fernando Haddadalso was approached by advisors to take on the role.
And that is precisely why Pimenta’s choice was welcomed.
In the assessment of Bradesco BBI e Agora Investmentsthe announcement represents a risk reduction event for Vale.
Analysts highlight that uncertainty regarding the next CEO has been one of the main concerns among investors in recent times and see the announcement being well received by the market due to three factors:
- the timing, given that investors expected a decision to be announced only in December;
- Gustavo Pimenta has built a solid track record with investors and the mining community at large; and
- a potentially smooth CEO transition, with the company maintaining its disciplined capital allocation strategy.
“We maintain our buy recommendation for VALE3, which is trading at an attractive EV/Ebitda multiple of 4.0x for 2024.”
Online, the Goldman Sachs comments that the announcement of the new CEO helps to reduce uncertainties, since the internal name is potentially aligned with the majority stakeholders — investors, board, government — and would also bring continuity to the strategy that has been followed by the mining company.
In the bank's assessment, the current challenge will consist of continuous operational improvement on different fronts, including solutions to the significant depletion and regulatory challenges in the north and greater efficiency of underutilized assets in the southern system.
“We also expect investors’ focus to be on Mr. Pimenta’s ability to lead the dialogue with the Brazilian government, a key stakeholder that is involved in discussions on the final Samarco agreement, the regulatory environment and the renewal of the railway concession.”