Maurício Botelho, the president and CEO of Embraer from 1995 to 2007, resigned as chairman of the board at the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer “for personal reasons" on Friday. Botelho successfully led the company’s restructuring, growth and globalization, turning a money-losing operation into a profitable one.
The year before Botelho took the helm, Embraer recorded losses of $330 million on revenues of just $250 million. By 1998, under Botelho’s leadership, Embraer was showing a profit. When he turned the company over to his successor, Frederico Curado, in April 2007, Embraer revenues came in at $5.245 billion and net income was reported at $489.3 million.
In a statement, Embraer said, “On behalf of all of the people who make up the Embraer family, we present our sincere gratitude to Maurício for his dedication and effective contribution to the success of our company, wishing him much success and happiness in this new phase of his life.”
According to the company’s articles of association, Hermann Wever, the current vice chairman of the Board, will take over the chairmanship until a board general assembly can be called to elect a new chairman.
