Brazil Stock Guide — PagSeguro founder Luis Frias has stepped down as chair and director of PagSeguro Digital (NYSE: PAGS), ending a nine-year tenure on the company’s board.
Frias notified the board of his resignation on Thursday, August 20, effective Friday, August 21. The company said he will remain its indirect controlling shareholder and continues to be committed to the group’s growth.
The move marks a governance transition at PagBank. The board appointed Maria Judith de Brito, an existing director, as its new chair, while Eduardo Alcaro was reconfirmed as vice chair.
Brito has been closely associated with Frias’ business group for decades. She has served on PagSeguro’s board since 2017 and also holds senior positions at UOL and Grupo Folha.
PagSeguro’s ownership remains highly concentrated. UOL owns all of the company’s Class B shares, which carry 10 votes each. As of March 2026, that structure gave the controlling shareholder approximately 88.7% of PagSeguro Digital’s voting power.
UOL, in turn, is controlled through a corporate structure linked to Luis Frias. In August 2020, Frias stepped down as president of Folha da Manhã, the company that publishes Folha de S.Paulo, but remained the newspaper’s publisher, a position he continues to hold.
That means Frias’ departure from the PagSeguro board does little to alter his influence as controlling shareholder. The move creates a clearer separation between the controlling shareholder and the formal leadership of the board, without changing who ultimately holds decisive voting power over the company’s major corporate decisions.
Following Frias’ departure, the board will have seven members, three of whom are independent. In addition to Brito and Alcaro, the board includes Artur Gaulke Schunck, Alexandre Magnani, Marcia Nogueira de Mello, Maria Carolina Ferreira Lacerda and Cleveland Prates Teixeira.
The company did not disclose the reason for Frias’ decision to leave the board and announced no other changes to its executive management.
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