New Eletrobras CEO pleases power industry, market

Amid fears of political interference or even the selection of a military member to run Eletrobras, the market had a sigh of relief with the appointment of Rodrigo Limp for the position and even turned a blind eye to the governance override in the recruitment process.

Selected by the government, Mr. Limp, current electric energy secretary of the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME), was not on the list prepared by consultancy Korn Ferry, hired to assist in the succession process of Wilson Ferreira Júnior. Mr. Limp's name was received with enthusiasm by a large part of analysts and investors.

Even those who had reservations about the choice of Mr. Limp, in particular because his lack of experience in the corporate world, highlighted the technical and thoughtful profile of the new CEO of Eletrobras. The market was especially pleased with what is supposed to be his main asset: access to lawmakers and ability to build consensus around the privatization of the state-owned company.

The decision about Mr. Limp's appointment was made on Wednesday, in a tense meeting of the board of directors, which culminated in the resignation of Mauro Cunha, one of the three members who voted against the government's choice. The move, which had the potential to trigger an image crisis for the state-owned company, mostly after the departure of the CEOs of Petrobras and Banco do Brasil, unhappy with government interferences, gained little importance. Mr. Limp's good reception prevailed.

Eletrobras shares reacted positively to the news, closing higher on Thursday. ON and PNB shares rose 4.96% and 3,62%, respectively, while Ibovespa went up 1.50%. The market response was very different from the one in the wake of Petrobras's recent change of command. At the time, the oil company shares tumbled 20% with the appointment, by the government, of Army General Joaquim Silva and Luna to replace Roberto Castello Branco.

Worries about governance in the hiring process were mitigated by Mr. Limp's curriculum - it is practically a consensus that the new CEO has the right profile to lead Eletrobras at this time.

Besides having worked in the elaboration of Provisional Measure (MP) 1,031/2021, the most recent attempt by the government to move ahead with the privatization of the company, Mr. Limp was a director of the Brazilian Electricity Regulatory Agency (Aneel) and a legislative consultant in the area of Mineral Resources, Water and Energy of the Chamber of Deputies.

"The selection...

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