As Boeing and Embraer are moving closer to their joint venture, current Brazilian company’s CEO is to end tenure at the end on April 2019, with a successor to be “recruited externally”.
The leaving CEO, Paulo Cesar de Souza e Silva, has worked for the company for over twenty years, Embraer statement reads. For six years he was President and CEO of Commercial Aviation and in 2013 launched the E2 Program. In 2016, Souza e Silva became President and CEO of the Embraer Group. The transaction with Boeing, naturally, was one of his administration’s key initiatives.
The end of his two year elected term comes on April 22, 2019. After that, Souza e Silva will support the transition process of the company as senior advisor of the board of directors. He will be tasked with facilitating the integration of the future President and CEO and advising the board on the monitoring of assets and resources segregation as establishing of joint venture with Boeing moves forward.
To establish the joint venture, Embraer would be selling a 80% stake at in its commercial aviation activities, including aftermarket support services, to Boeing for $4.2 billion. The Brazilian plane maker intents to keep its defense and executive jet business units and associated services operations.
Brazilian authorities were initially concerned of losing control over Embraer’s military division. Nevertheless, the authorities and now the shareholders have now agreed on a second joint venture to “promote and develop new markets” for the multi-mission medium airlift KC-390. Embraer is to hold 51% and Boeing the remaining 49%.
Embraer, Boeing joint venture was first announced in July 2018. The two companies agreed on the terms of it in December 2018. Initially reluctant to to give their blessing, the Brazilian government finally approved the merger in January 2019. A day after, the Brazilian plane maker’s board of directors ratified its support for the deal and definitive transaction documents were signed. The partnership still has to be granted further approvals of the Regulatory and Competitive Agencies in Brazil and abroad, and is expected to be concluded by the end of 2019.