By Brazil Stock Guide — Previ has asked Vale (VALE3, VALE) to call an extraordinary shareholders’ meeting to vote on the removal of Daniel Stieler from the mining company’s board, in a move that signals an effort to realign its influence at one of the largest companies in its portfolio after a change in leadership at the fund.
Vale said on Thursday it had received a letter from Caixa de Previdência dos Funcionários do Banco do Brasil requesting Stieler’s removal as a board member. Stieler is currently chairman of Vale’s board. Previ also proposed the appointment of José Maurício Pereira Coelho as a full board member for the remainder of the current term, which runs until Vale’s 2027 annual shareholders’ meeting.
If Stieler’s removal is approved, shareholders will also vote on the election of a new board chairman. In the same letter, Previ said it supports Manuel Lino Silva de Sousa Oliveira, known as Ollie, to lead the board.
According to Vale, Previ said Ollie’s potential appointment as chairman would help strengthen governance practices, improve strategic management and better align the company with the interests of shareholders and other stakeholders.
Vale said its board is evaluating the necessary steps to call the meeting, in accordance with Brazilian corporate law, the company’s bylaws, internal rules and its board member policy.
Changing of the Guard at Previ
The move comes amid a broader shift at Previ after João Luiz Fukunaga stepped down as president of the pension fund in October 2025 and later resigned from Vale’s board in February 2026.
Fukunaga, a former union leader and Previ-appointed director, had become an important figure in Vale’s governance debates. During his tenure, the fund played a relevant role in the resistance by institutional shareholders to Cosan’s attempt to gain greater influence over the mining company’s board.
The proposed change is therefore not simply a fight for board seats, nor a clean divide between technical and political profiles. In large Brazilian companies, senior board appointments often combine technical credentials, institutional relationships and shareholder alignment.
The issue is alignment.
Stieler has a background in the financial system, Banco do Brasil, Previ itself and corporate boards. But he has also come to represent an earlier phase of the fund’s presence at Vale. After a period marked by internal pressure, regulatory scrutiny and leadership changes at Previ, the current management appears to be seeking a board composition more closely aligned with its own governance priorities and with lower institutional friction.
Previ’s support for Ollie Oliveira as chairman reinforces that repositioning. Ollie has been Vale’s Lead Independent Director and an independent board member since 2021. He also sits on the Audit and Risk Committee and the Sustainability Committee.
His career spans more than four decades in corporate finance and strategy, mainly in the mining sector, with experience at groups such as Anglo American and De Beers. He has also served on international boards of companies linked to natural resources, mining and sector-focused investments.
For investors, Ollie’s potential election as chairman would likely be read as a signal of greater board independence and smoother governance. The nomination of José Maurício Coelho, a former Previ president and former chairman of Vale’s board, adds to the view that the fund wants to preserve its influence while reducing friction and bringing back a name with institutional memory and financial experience.
Previ is not stepping away from Vale. It is trying to adjust how its influence is exercised — with a board setup that looks more aligned with the fund’s new leadership, more predictable for investors and less exposed to the tensions of the previous cycle.
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