Category: People

Microfinance association Accion International, whose partner institutions are mostly located in LatAm, has hired Michael Schlein as its new president and CEO. Schlein, who is expected to assume his new post in October, is president of international franchise management at Citi. Previously, he was chief of staff at the SEC. Out of Accion’s 30 partners, 23 are located in LatAm. The association is expanding its presence into Africa and Asia.

Brazilian telecom analysts may have been surprised by Vivendi’s offer for local operator GVT, but the French conglomerate’s CEO Jean-Bernard Levy says his bid makes perfect sense. Besides the fact Brazil is “one of, if not the most attractive emerging market,” it also lacks infrastructure for high speed internet and digital content, says Levy, speaking on a Wednesday call about his Brazil overture. He adds Brazil also has no triple play offerings that bundle broadband, cable television and telephone services, a product Vivendi specializes in back home. As for GVT, Levy describes it as the country’s fastest growing telecom provider. Telecom analyst Luciana Leocadio of Ativa Corretores agrees, saying that while larger and more established players such as Telefonica see average annual revenue growth of 4% or 5%, GVT’s revenue grows an average of 20% or 30% a year. GVT claims it has 4% of the Brazilian telecom market, while Telefonica says its share is 31%.

Brazil meat company Sadia says it has fired its CEO Gilberto Tomazoni and named Jose Julio Cardoso de Lucena in his place. It does not state the reasons for the replacement. Sadia in August merged with Perdigao to form Brasil Foods, but the companies will operate independently for at least a year following formal conclusion of the deal, and retain their respective chairmen and CEOs during that time.

HSBC has named Tony Murphy its new CEO for the Americas’ global banking and markets unit. Murphy is replacing Paul Lawrence, who has held this role for the past three years in addition to being CEO of HSBC Bank in the US. Starting September 14, Murphy will assume his new role, which includes LatAm. A spokeswoman says the appointment is an effort to align HSBC’s America’s strategy with its global EM strategy. In the US, Murphy will report to Lawrence, who stays on as CEO of HSBC Bank USA. He will also report to Samir Assaf, head of global markets, and Robin Phillips, head of global banking, both of whom are based in London.

Brazil’s Eletrobras says it plans to invest in Peruvian generation and will look to bid on energy generation auctions in the country. Speaking earlier this week, CEO Jose Antonio Muniz Lopez said Eletrobras is interested in establishing itself in Peru nd could seek a partnership to bid on new projects. Peruvian laws state that to bid for concessions, foreigners must work in partnership with a local entity. Eletrobras has already attempted to team up with Eletroperu but that partnership never materialized, according to a local report.

Eike Batista has hired Credit Suisse mining and steel analyst Roger Allan Downey to replace him as CEO of MMX, the Brazilian iron ore miner. Downey will also take over IR duties for the Brazilian iron ore company. Batista relinquishes his CEO title, but will stay on as chairman of the board. Joaquim Martino, MMX’s former executive officer, will become a special advisor of parent EBX Group for mining activities and will continue contributing in deployment and operation of mining projects. He will also be nominated to become a member of MMX’s board as vice chairman. In his first conference call with analysts as CEO, held yesterday, Downey says that conversations with China’s Wuhan Iron and Steel, which signed a non-binding agreement to acquire a minority stake in the company, are continuing, but that no binding offer has been made yet. Downey says that a delegation from Wuhan will visit Brazil soon and that discussions will continue, but adds that there is no timeframe for completion of a deal. Wuhan initially agreed in May to acquire a 9% stake in MMX for $120m and a 23% equity interest in the Sudeste port for $280m, by issuing new shares.

Brazilian logistics operator LLX has tapped Otavio Lazcano, former CFO of steel company CSN, to be its new CEO and IR officer. He replaces Ricardo Antunes Carneiro, who will remain within the EBX group and become a board member of some of the holdco’s companies. In July, LatinFinance reported Lazcano had joined EBX and company insiders had indicated he would be one of a handful of managers on a new $10bn private equity fund Eike Batista, the founder of EBX, is currently raising. LLX will today hold a call to discuss the transition.

Caribbean telecom Digicel Group is interested in entering Costa Rica in 2010 and may also look at the Bahamas, when the two countries open up their telecom industries to competition, CEO Colm Delves tells LatinFinance. Costa Rica is in the process of allowing the private sector to operate in its telecoms sector, he adds. “There is talk that the Bahamas is also opening up. I understand there is a process to sell a stake in the [national telecommunications] company, which in turn will lead to privatization of that market, but we are probably talking about a 2-year timeframe,” Delves explains. The Bahamas Telecommunications Company has hired Citibank to advise on the sale of a 51% stake to a strategic buyer. The seller is apparently looking to raise over $300m.