Brazil’s Cemig names Passanezi Filho as CEO: filing

By Gabriela Mello

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian state-run power firm Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais , known as Cemig, said on Monday its board has named Reynaldo Passanezi Filho as chief executive officer, starting on January 13.

Passanezi Filho will replace Cledorvino Belini, a former Fiat SpA executive, who has been acting as CEO since February 2019.

According to a securities filing, Passanezi is a former CEO of transmission company CTEEP, owned by Colombia’s ISA, with “broad experience in corporate restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, Latin America and infrastructure.”

Cemig did not say why it was replacing Belini, who was leading a revamp of the company involving job cuts and cost reductions.

The firm is controlled by Minas Gerais state, which is governed by a market-friendly party known as Novo. Novo’s election represented a political U-turn from its former leftist Workers Party administration.

The move comes after indications from the state governor that he would be willing to privatize Cemig, which is one of Brazil’s largest energy companies, with operations ranging from generation to transmission and distribution.

(Reporting by Gabriela Mello; Editing by Jan Harvey)