Emílio announces exit and changes in the Board of Directors

Decision underlines the controlling shareholder?s desire of drawing a line between the family and the executive leadership of the businesses

*Press release

Speaking in the presence of 200 executives, with his message directed specially to the younger generation, 72-year-old Emílio Odebrecht today announced at the closure of the annual meeting of his business group, held in Salvador, that he will resign as chairman of the board of directors of Odebrecht S.A. in April 2018, during the Annual Shareholders Meeting.

It was the second announcement made by Emílio this week with an impact on succession at Odebrecht. On Monday (December 11), in a letter to the team members of the Group, Emílio informed that, by a decision of the controlling shareholder, no member of the Odebrecht family may henceforth be the CEO of Odebrecht S.A.

Now, with the news of his resignation as chairman of the board of directors, Emílio underlines and builds on what he said at the start of the week: both his gesture and the new criteria for selecting the CEO represent the desire of the controlling shareholder to segregate the Odebrecht family from the executive leadership of Odebrecht S.A., the holding company of the group.

Emílio did not name his successor, but said he will work together with him on renovating the board of directors, which should be concluded by April, in order to adapt it “to the demands and challenges of the new phase in the life of Odebrecht.”

“During the coming months, based on the vote officialized by the majority shareholder, we will implement the provisions of the new Policy on Governance, which sets the guidelines for Odebrecht S.A. to act as the holding company of a portfolio of self-sufficient businesses. In other words, each with its own governance, which gives it the autonomy for designing and executing its own strategy.”

The Policy on Governance, among other changes to be implemented in the management of Odebrecht, establishes new membership criteria for the board of directors. It sets the age limit for directors at 75 and recommends that the choice of directors “value diversity of knowledge, experience and cultural aspects, as well as nationality, age group and gender.”

In his speech, Emílio stated: “Today, we are aware that working with Ethics, Integrity and Transparency is fundamental for us to survive and resume growth. It is demanded by our clients and societies where we are present.”

He added: “Anyone who went through what did, learned what we learned, changed how we changed, yet maintained its culture and its corporate and technical qualities as we did despite the departure of many colleagues, will certainly be the choice of clients and the preferred choice of business partners.”