Vale board members in a ‘state of war’ over CEO succession — report

The board of directors responsible for selecting the CEO of Vale (NYSE: VALE) is in turmoil, Brazilian newspaper O Globo reported.

Last week, consulting firm Russell Reynolds, hired to assist the company in its selection process, delivered a list of 15 potential successors for its outgoing chief executive Eduardo Bartolomeo.

According to O Globo, the list includes high-profile CEOs like Francisco Gomes Neto (Embraer), Gustavo Werneck (Gerdau), Carlos Piani (Equatorial), Cristiano Teixeira (Klabin), Maurício Bhar (Engie), Antonio Maciel Neto (Caoa), Antonio Filosa (Jeep), Ana Zambelli (SLB), André Juliano (Siemens), and Fabio Venturelli (São Martinho).

Also reportedly on the list are former minister and former Petrobras president Pedro Parente, Volkswagen’s US president Pablo Di Si, former Braskem CEO Roberto Simões, and two mining industry executives, Ruben Marcos Fernandes (Anglo American) and Marcelo Bastos (BHP and formerly Vale).

As reported by Brazilian newspaper columnist Lauro Jardim, part of the board insists that two of these executives will be included in the final shortlist to be voted on in the last week of September. The third candidate will come from within Vale.

This agreement was reached by the board months ago, and the internal candidate is expected to be the chief financial officer, Gustavo Pimenta.

However, another faction within the board is moving to dismantle the board entirely by persuading some directors to resign, which would require the election of a new board. At least two executives included in the list of 15 reportedly chose to abstain from the vote.

According to O Globo, they assessed that the process was excessively toxic.

Vale, one of the world’s largest iron ore miners, expects to announce its new chief executive by early December to replace Bartolomeo, whose term ends this year.

Earlier this month, Vale pledged to “proceed swiftly” to replace two independent board members who resigned over the last few months, one of them citing allegations of political influence in the CEO succession plan.