Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras
Leadership History
4 leaders · 2012 to present
Magda Chambriard is the CEO of Petrobras, in the role since 2024. The first chief executive was Maria das Gracas Foster, from 2012.
| Name | Role | From | To | Years in role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magda Chambriard | Chief Executive Officer | 2024 | Present | 2 |
| Jean Paul Prates | Former Chief Executive Officer | 2023 | 2024 | 1 |
| Roberto Castello Branco | Former Chief Executive Officer | 2019 | 2021 | 2 |
| Maria das Gracas Foster | Chief Executive Officer | 2012 | 2015 | 3 |
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro and controlled by the Brazilian federal government, which held 50.26% of the voting common shares as of August 2026. It is Brazil's largest company by revenue and its dominant oil producer and refiner. Its shares trade on B3 as PETR3 and PETR4 and on the NYSE as PBR and PBR.A ADRs. At the end of 2025 it employed 50,687 people including subsidiaries such as Transpetro. The company is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Petrobras makes money along the whole oil chain. Exploration and Production is the profit engine: it pumps low-cost crude and gas from pre-salt fields such as Búzios, Tupi and Mero and sells crude to its own refineries and export buyers. Refining, Transportation and Marketing runs Brazil's main refineries and sells diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, LPG and bunker fuel wholesale to distributors. Petrobras no longer owns a retail station network: it sold its former distribution arm BR Distribuidora (now Vibra Energia) between 2019 and 2021, and Vibra licenses the Petrobras brand at stations. Gas and Low-Carbon Energies covers gas processing, thermal power and biofuels. In Q2 2026, 82% of the company's $5.3 billion of quarterly investment went to exploration and production.
Chief Executive Officer
2024 – Present
2 years (current)
Pushed the Foz do Amazonas drilling program through licensing; halted refinery divestments.
Has led Petrobras since May 2024, prioritizing pre-salt production growth, higher refinery utilization, Equatorial Margin exploration and the $109 billion 2026-2030 Business Plan. Previously director-general of the ANP (2012-2016).
Former Chief Executive Officer
2023 – 2024
1 year
New commercial fuel pricing policy in May 2023.
Former senator who led Petrobras from January 2023 to May 2024, replacing import-parity fuel pricing and pursuing renewables and offshore wind studies.
Former Chief Executive Officer
2019 – 2021
2 years
Accelerated asset sales and import-parity pricing; replaced by President Bolsonaro in 2021.
Economist who led Petrobras from 2019 to 2021, focusing on deleveraging, pre-salt and divestments including BR Distribuidora and refinery sales.
Chief Executive Officer
2012 – 2015
3 years
Foster, a career Petrobras engineer, became its first female chief executive in February 2012.
She resigned in February 2015 with other directors as the Car Wash corruption investigation widened.
Petrobras faces commodity price volatility, Brazilian state influence, fuel-pricing pressure, environmental licensing risk in frontier basins, reserve replacement needs, emissions scrutiny, and capital allocation tension between dividends, production growth, refining, and energy transition spending.
Magda Chambriard is the Chief Executive Officer of Petrobras, appointed in May 2024. A highly respected petroleum engineer, Chambriard began her career as an engineer at Petrobras in 1980, spent 22 years in exploration and production, and later served as Director-General of Brazil's oil regulator (ANP) from 2012 to 2016.
Jean Paul Prates served as CEO of Petrobras from January 2023 to May 2024. A former Brazilian Senator and energy lawyer, Prates ended the rigid PPI pricing policy, expanded renewable energy partnerships, maintained high shareholder dividends, and presented Petrobras's 2024-2028 Strategic Plan.
Roberto Castello Branco, a Chicago-trained market economist, served as CEO from 2019 to 2021. He spearheaded aggressive non-core asset divestments (selling fuel distributor BR Distribuidora and gas pipeline network TAG), reduced debt by tens of billions, and focused capital on Pre-Salt assets.
Pedro Parente served as CEO from 2016 to 2018 following the 'Operation Car Wash' crisis. Parente restored investor confidence, instituted the import parity pricing policy, implemented strict corporate governance standards, and initiated the corporate deleveraging program.
Maria das Graças Foster served as CEO of Petrobras from 2012 to 2015, becoming the first woman in history to lead a major global energy company. A career chemical engineer who rose from an intern to CEO, her tenure coincided with large Pre-Salt capital investments.
Magda Chambriard is focused on accelerating capital expenditure execution: advancing exploration in the Equatorial Margin, commissioning new FPSOs on time in Búzios and Mero, expanding domestic refining and fertilizer plants, and maintaining financial discipline.
Key executive directors include Fernando Melgarejo (Chief Financial and Investor Relations Officer), Sylvia dos Anjos (Exploration & Production), William França (Refining and Natural Gas), and Mauricio Tolmasquim (Energy Transition and Decarbonization).
Petrobras's Board of Directors includes representatives appointed by the Brazilian Government (the majority shareholder), independent minority shareholder representatives, and an employee representative, adhering to strict corporate governance protocols under Brazilian Corporate Law and the Federal State-Owned Companies Act.
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