By Brazil Stock Guide – João Luiz Fukunaga, president of Previ, Brazil’s largest pension fund, resigned this friday, October 17, following months of internal pressure and scrutiny. His departure comes after a challenging period for the fund, which is responsible for managing over R$ 270 billion in assets. Fukunaga, who had been leading Previ since 2023, will be replaced by Márcio Chiumento, the current director of Participations at the fund. Fukunaga will transition to a new role at EloPar, a holding company formed by Bradesco and Banco do Brasil, where he will assume the position of Director of Government Relations and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance).
Fukunaga’s resignation follows a series of financial difficulties, including an audit initiated by the Brazilian Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) earlier this year. The audit was triggered after Previ reported a significant deficit of R$ 3.16 billion in 2024, though the fund managed to recover and post a R$ 1.48 billion surplus by August 2025. Despite the challenges, Fukunaga defended the fund’s investment strategies, stating that the negative results were “conjunctural” and emphasized that all decisions were made based on technical and rigorous criteria. “Never was there a hole of any kind. The negative results in 2024 were due to market fluctuations,” Fukunaga said in previous statements.
The TCU audit, which followed a legal challenge to Fukunaga’s appointment in August 2024, questioned the fund’s performance and management. In response, Previ clarified that the audit was triggered by the TCU’s decision on Fukunaga’s appointment, which complied with all regulations, and highlighted that it had never required extra contributions from members to cover any deficits. The fund also emphasized that all investment decisions were made by a collegiate body, consisting of the president and five other directors.
Fukunaga’s departure comes at a time when leadership changes are sweeping through Banco do Brasil and its subsidiaries. In July, Tarciana Medeiros, the president of Banco do Brasil, replaced the head of BB Asset, Denísio Liberato, with Gustavo Lustosa, continuing a trend of leadership renewal within the institution. Fukunaga’s role as a former union leader had been a point of contention in his appointment, given his history with the Sindicato dos Bancários de São Paulo and his involvement in national negotiations as a coordinator of the bank’s employee commission.
Chiumento, who takes over as Previ’s president, has had a long career with Banco do Brasil, serving in various leadership positions across the organization. With extensive experience in the public sector and corporate governance, Chiumento’s appointment is expected to bring a new focus to the pension fund, which is heavily relied upon by employees of Banco do Brasil for their retirement savings. Adriana Chagastelles, a nearly 30-year veteran of Previ, will step into Chiumento’s former role as Director of Participations, marking a milestone as the first woman to be appointed to an executive-level position at this level within the bank.
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