Chairman of Brazil mining giant Vale: early CEO pick sought to avoid ‘noise’

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -The choice by the board of Brazilian miner Vale earlier this week to announce a new chief executive prioritized the need to avoid further market speculation over other potential candidates, the company’s chairman told Reuters on Tuesday.

On Monday, Vale announced that current finance chief Gustavo Pimenta would take the reins of the company and become its next CEO, wrapping up a messy succession process months ahead of the company’s own deadline.

Brazil’s top miner is a major producer of iron ore, pellets and nickel, in addition to running mining projects that tap manganese, cobalt, , gold and silver.

Earlier this year, Vale disclosed a leadership succession schedule calling for three finalists for the top job to be approved by its board by late September, and then a final pick unveiled by early December in time for a key investor event.

“After many discussions regarding the succession process, the board had met, understanding that the earlier the choice was made, in a responsible manner, the better it would be for the company,” Chairman Daniel Stieler said in an interview at Vale’s Rio de Janeiro headquarters.

Revealing the pick of Pimenta in August removed “some of the noise of candidate names that had been surging all the time,” but were never evaluated by the board, Stieler added.