By Brazil Stock Guide – Braskem S.A. (BRKM5, BRKM3, BAK) confirmed the election of Hélcio Tokeshi as its new chief executive officer, formalizing a leadership reshuffle that strengthens the presence of executives linked to IG4 Capital at Latin America’s largest petrochemical company. The company also approved Carlos Brandão as chief financial and investor relations officer and Camilla Tápias as legal officer — appointments previously reported by Brazil Stock Guide before the official market disclosure.
The decision followed an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting held on June 8, which approved the election of Braskem’s new board of directors for a term running through the 2028 annual shareholders’ meeting. The newly elected board then chose Magda Chambriard as chair and Hélio Baptista Novaes as vice chair, clearing the way for the reorganization of the company’s statutory executive board.
New Architecture
The management change marks a significant shift in Braskem’s governance at a time when the company is trying to reorganize its capital structure, manage complex liabilities and reposition its strategy after years of shareholder uncertainty. Tokeshi’s arrival is not just another executive appointment. It signals a search for a more financial, operational and restructuring-oriented profile to guide the company through its next stage.
Tokeshi is a managing director at IG4 Capital and brings a background spanning the public sector, infrastructure, strategic consulting and asset management. He was CEO of CLI – Corredor Logística e Infraestrutura, served on boards at companies including Iguá Saneamento, and previously worked as São Paulo state finance secretary. He also held roles at McKinsey and the World Bank, with academic training in economics from USP, Unicamp and the University of California, Berkeley.
Financial Axis
The appointment of Carlos Brandão as chief financial and investor relations officer reinforces the view that Braskem wants management closer to deleveraging, capital discipline and dialogue with creditors and investors. Brandão also comes from IG4, where he serves as managing partner and head of operations, and previously was CEO of Iguá Saneamento.
His earlier experience at Oi, where he served as CFO during one of Brazil’s largest corporate restructurings, gives the new finance chief a profile familiar with high-complexity situations. That matters for investors because Braskem remains a strategic industrial company, but one still burdened by financial, legal and reputational challenges.
The company also named Luiz Rossato as transformation officer, a role that suggests an effort to accelerate internal changes, including potential asset sales aimed at reducing Braskem’s leverage. Rossato has experience in M&A, governance, restructuring, corporate strategy and investor relations, with previous roles at Atvos, Via, RHI Magnesita and Magnesita.
Strategic Legal Role
The appointment of Camilla Tápias as legal officer also carries weight. A lawyer trained at USP, with a master’s degree from Georgetown University, she spent more than two decades in the telecommunications industry and held senior leadership roles at Vivo, including legal, regulatory, institutional relations and sustainability responsibilities.
At Braskem, the legal department is not a back-office function. The company continues to deal with the effects of shareholder disputes, regulatory liabilities and sensitive issues related to the geological event in Alagoas. The choice of an executive with regulatory and institutional experience indicates that litigation, stakeholder management and governance will remain central to the company’s corporate strategy.
In addition to the new appointments, Braskem kept Nir Lander in corporate affairs, Carlos Plachta, a former board member of the company, in consumer market and logistics, and Raphael Franco de Campos in operations. Campos previously led Petrobras’s Paulínia refinery. The company also appointed Marcio Pitzer as non-statutory compliance and conformity officer, reinforcing an area that remains critical for a company with a long history of regulatory and reputational scrutiny.
Market Signal
With the new leadership team, CEO Roberto Ramos, CFO Felipe Jens and other executives leave the company. The new executive board will serve a two-year term, aligned with the mandate of the board of directors, running until the first board meeting after the 2028 annual shareholders’ meeting.
For investors, the message is clear: Braskem is entering a phase of more technical command, with a strong presence of executives used to restructuring, infrastructure, telecommunications, sanitation and complex corporate situations. It does not solve all of the company’s problems. But it confirms a new attempt to organize power, capital and execution at a company that remains central to Brazilian industry.
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