Last Monday (January 19), at Petrobras’ head office in Rio de Janeiro, a ceremony was held to formally appoint the company’s new Director of Governance, Risk Management and Compliance, João Adalberto Elek Júnior. During the event, the new director signed his employment agreement, alongside company CEO Maria das Graças Silva Foster.

Foster emphasized that the new director’s mission is to ensure the compliance of processes and mitigate risks, including risks of fraud, corruption and ethical misconduct. The CEO highlighted that Elek will also be one of the members – together with former minister of the Supreme Federal Court Ellen Gracie Northfleet, and former Siemens executive Andreas Pohlmann – of Petrobras’ Special Committee, which will help to coordinate the independent internal investigations being carried out by two law firms hired by Petrobras.

“I am sure that we will make an even better company. We broke all the company’s operational records in 2014. We broke the record for oil production, natural gas production and electricity production, and we increased our market share in distribution, among other things. We are achieving equilibrium to overcome the problems arising from the ‘Lava Jato’ anti-corruption probe, especially by assisting the public authorities to comprehensively and quickly elucidate the facts, and in parallel running our company so that it continues to grow and operate with excellence. We have technical prestige but we also want recognition for our governance,” said Foster.

João Elek was chosen for the position of Director of Governance, Risk Management and Compliance through a selection process conducted by Korn Ferry, a specialist executive recruitment company, which looked for market professionals with recognized skills in the governance area. The new director was elected by Petrobras’ Board of Directors to serve a renewable three-year term. “I am very honored by the opportunity to contribute to Petrobras and my fellow directors and company leaders, through my experience in governance. The company will leave this moment even stronger,” said Elek.

The new director has worked for more than 30 years at multinational and domestic corporations in the banking, telecommunications, agribusiness and export sectors. He has an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering and specialist diplomas in finance and business from Columbia University and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Elek has been a member of the Brazilian Corporate Governance Institute’s Market Communication Commission since 2012.

The formal appointment ceremony was attended by Petrobras’ E&P Director, José Miranda Formigli, Finance and Investor Relations Director, Almir Barbassa, Engineering, Technology and Materials Director, José Antônio de Figueiredo, Gas and Electricity Director, José Alcides Santoro, the CEOs of Petrobras subsidiaries, and company managers.

Governance, Risk Management and Compliance Department

The creation of the new Governance, Risk Management and Compliance Department was unanimously approved by Petrobras’ Board of Directors on November 25, 2014. The new department is tasked with ensuring the compliance of processes and mitigating risks, including fraud and corruption risks, guaranteeing compliance with laws and internal and external rules, standards and regulations. Through the new department, Petrobras will improve and reinforce its efforts to combat breaches of its Code of Ethics and to comply with the rules of the New York and São Paulo stock exchanges.

The new department will be composed of three executive management areas. The Governance Area will be responsible for monitoring the execution of Petrobras’ corporate governance model, as well as tracking the implementation and enforcement of guidelines and rules related to the company’s decision-making process. The Corporate Risk Management Area will work to strengthen an integrated view of business risks by identifying, evaluating, monitoring and managing significant risks, working together with all areas and companies in the Petrobras System. The Compliance Area will work on planning, guiding, coordinating and evaluating control and compliance activities, including mitigation of fraud and corruption risks.

The new director will be responsible for appraising the compliance, in Brazil and abroad, of the processes in Petrobras’ Exploration and Production, Gas and Electricity, Downstream, Finance, Engineering, Technology, Materials, Services and other areas, seeking to guarantee compliance with the established rules and standards.