Chile made headlines when it revamped its cabinet in May. President Michelle Bachelet tapped six new ministers and switched three to new posts. Rodrigo Valdés took over as finance minister, replacing Alberto Arenas. Valdés had worked as chief executive at BancoEstado since April 2014. Economy minister Luis Felipe Céspedes remained at his post.
Decision makers at Chilean corporates and firms also made moves. Retailer La Polar named Juan Enrique Vilajuana as new chairman, after the resignation of César Barros Montero, who led the board for four years. Chilean power company Enersis promoted Francisco de Borja as new chairman of the board, taking over from Jorge Rosenblut who resigned after half a year on the job. Utility provider Empresas Públicas de Medellín appointed Fredy Zuleta Dávila as CEO of its Chilean subsidiary Aguas de Antofagasta. Hugo Masana Sepúlveda had led the water utility, which EPM bought in late April for $965 million. Santiago-based pension fund Cuprum welcomed Pedro Atria as CEO, replacing Ignacio Álvarez, who has led the AFP since 2009.
Also in the Andes, the Colombian finance ministry appointed Ana Milena López as head of public credit, replacing Michel Janna, who exited the post in April. Energy holding company ISA named Bernardo Vargas Gibsone as CEO, promoted from his post as head of the business areas committee. He replaced Luis Fernando Alarcón, who moved to lead the board of retailer Grupo Éxito. Peruvian conglomerate Grupo Romero named Paolo Sacchi as CEO. Sacchi hails from the same post in Alicorp, a subsidiary of the group. Alfredo Pérez took over Sacchi´s position at Alicorp.
In Mexico, Grupo Mexicano de Desarrollo hired Federico Ochoa Peressini as its new chief financial officer, taking the position over from Sergio Cancino Rodríguez. Santiago Ortiz Monasterio was promoted to CEO at GBM Infraestructura from his previous post as CFO, replacing Manuel Rodríguez Arregui. The company has yet to name a new CFO.
Ford Credit de México appointed María Antonieta Ludivina Osorio Hernández to replace Eric Christiaan Roell Heering as CFO. Roell moved to take a position in the Ford Motor Company in the US. Elementia named Rafael Lira as CFO, taking over from Víctor Hugo Ibarra Alcázar. Mario Gordillo Rincón stepped down as CEO of Grupo Elektra, after working with the company since 2003. Rodrigo Kede was named president at information technology company Totvs, to pave the way for the exit of its CEO and founder Laercio Cosentino. Kede will become the new CEO after a transition period of up to three years, when Cosentino will become a candidate for board chairman.
Brazilian builder Camargo Corrêa replaced Dalton Avancini from his post as president of the board, due to his arrest in connection to the Lava Jato investigation. The company named Artur Coutinho to take over the role. Also in Brazil, Harley Lorentz Scardoelli became CFO at steel producer Gerdau, after André Pires resigned.
Sweeping in
Eduardo Osuna Osuna replaced Vicente María Rodero Rodero as BBVA Bancomer’s CEO. Rodero will now lead networks and operations at Bancomer parent BBVA. Benedikt Kodel left his role as a debt capital markets official in the Mexican unit of HSBC to join BBVA Bancomer’s syndicated loans team. María Fernanda Espino joined HSBC’s debt capital markets team in Mexico as an associate, following the departure of Kodel. Former Banamex CEO Javier Arrigunaga took over Eduardo Tricio Haro’s post as chairman of the board at Grupo Aeroméxico.
Meanwhile, José Oriol Bosch Par, CEO of the Mexican stock exchange, was named head of Mexican derivative exchange MexDer. He replaced Jorge Alegría, who left the exchange for personal reasons after 13 years at the institution.
In Argentina, BBVA Banco Francés appointed Martín Ezequiel Zarich as CEO. Zarich took over from Ricardo Enrique Moreno, who moved to BBVA headquarters in Spain.
Sergio García joined Rabobank as VP covering corporates and project finance in Latin America, reporting to Nader Pasdar, managing director and head of capital markets origination. García left NordLB where he was a director of project finance. García started in the newly created role in New York on May 18, focusing on food and agriculture, targeted areas of growth for the bank.
Oppenheimer & Co. named John Tonelli as managing director and head of debt capital markets and syndication, reporting to Robert Lowenthal, global head of fixed income. Tonelli worked as CFO of Argentine holdco Corporación América. LF