Economist Roberto Castello Branco is likely to take the helm of Brazil’s state-controlled oil giant Petrobras after being tapped by Paulo Guedes, future minister of the Economy (expected to encompass the current ministries of Finance, Planning Industry, and Foreign Trade). The announcement was made today (Nov. 19) by Guedes’s team.

Castello Branco is an economist with a post-doctoral degree from the University of Chicago and “extensive experience in both private and public sectors.”

He has served as director at the Central Bank and mining giant Vale, was member of Petrobras’s board of directors and conducted research projects on oil and gas.

The future CEO of Petrobras is director at the Center for Studies on Economic Growth and Development at the Getulio Vargas Foundation. Petrobras’s current CEO, Ivan Monteiro, is to remain in his post until Castello Branco’s official appointment.