Petrobras reports that the Board of Directors, in a meeting held yesterday, elected, effective 10/01/2019, Mr. Nicolás Simone for the role of Digital Transformation and Innovation Executive Officer, a new area of the Company that will be deployed after the General Shareholders Meeting to be held on 09/30/2019.

The new Petrobras Executive Office will focus on digital transformation and innovation, which is consistent with the emphasis on information technology in the Company's transformational change process to maximize value generation for shareholders and for Brazil.

Nicolás Simone is a Software and Systems Engineer from O.R.T University - Uruguay, with extensive international experience and knowledge of information technology, digital transformation, cyber security, AI, omnichannel, CRM, innovation, sales, logistics, process reengineering, large projects, shared services center (SSC) and industry 4.0. He has led transformational global projects, M&A processes, implemented management systems such as SAP/ERP, outsourcing and off shoring models, sales systems, among others, always focusing on innovation and adding value to the business.

He has held leadership positions in large companies such as Itaú-Unibanco, Lojas Renner, ABInBev and Grupo Boticário, with a strong business expertise in industry, consumer goods, retail and financial market segments. His focus is to act with empathy and systemic vision of the business to achieve results and exceed expectations with added value.

At the digital transformation front, he is very knowledgeable in transforming and connecting business and analog processes into digital according to the characteristics of each organization, implementing different methodologies to define and lead this cultural change in partnership with areas and business units.

With extensive experience and focus on innovation, he has transformed IT areas from a traditional to a bimodal format in order to add value to the business, structuring innovation labs with co-working areas and enabling partnerships with startups to incubate solutions using methodologies such as Design Thinking, Agile, Devops, and others to enhance end-user experience, adaptability, and interaction to reduce lead times. 

Throughout his career, he has published numerous articles, given lectures and interviews about the journey for digital transformation, innovation, ecosystem creation, and how to transform traditional IT into value-adding IT. His work has been recognized by several awards: CIO Executive Award in the Consumers Goods Category; CIO Executive Award in Retail; and in 2017 he published a paper that was a global case about how to transform the CIO and IT roles into Value Added entities strengthening the business collaboration.

The appointment of the Executive Officer was subject to prior review by the People Committee of the Petrobras Board of Directors.