Entrepreneur Pedro Parente was elected “new CEO of the Brazilian meat company BRF, the largest exporter of chicken meat in the world, just two weeks after he resigned from directing state oil company Petrobras,” according to the Spanish news agency EFE.
The report added that “the Board of Directors of the company unanimously took the decision to choose Parente as the company's CEO, vacant since last April following the resignation of José Aurélio Drummond Jr., as indicated in a statement sent to the financial market.” Parente had been elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors of BRF at the end of April.
Parente will take possession if authorized by the Public Ethics Commission of the Brazilian Presidency, a federal entity that will analyze the possible existence or not of any conflict of interest between his previous position in Petrobras and the new one in the meat company. "In case the Commission is resolved by the absence of conflict, and as soon as it is informed of the decision, Pedro Pullen Parente will take a position as global CEO of BRF,” the multinational company said in its statement.
The EFE news agency recalled that “Parente resigned on June 1 to its position as Petrobras CEO after the criticism received on the company’s price policy and after the truckers’ strike, which paralyzed Brazil for 11 days at the end of May. Parente would be CEO and chairman of the board of directors of BRF for an initial period of 180 days, which the company will try to extend for up to one year.”
The meat company is going through a severe economic crisis that led to losses last year of BRL1.100 million (about US$300 million), aggravated by the multiple corruption scandals uncovered inside, which has even closed the doors to markets like the European Union.
Finally, it is mentioned that “BRF recently announced the closure of its turkey production line in the municipality of Mineiros, in the state of Goiás (center-west), after 11 years in operation, due to restrictions imposed abroad.”
