By Brazil Stock Guide – Companhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo (Sabesp) has taken control of EMAE – Empresa Metropolitana de Águas e Energia S.A. and moved swiftly to overhaul the company’s leadership, marking a new phase for the São Paulo-based power generator and water infrastructure operator.
Carlos “Guga” Piani, chief executive of Sabesp, was elected chairman of EMAE’s board, while Rafael Costa Strauch, a Sabesp executive, was appointed chief executive officer with a mandate running through June 2028.
The shift follows a dramatic reversal in EMAE’s ownership structure. The company had been privatized by Governor Tarcísio de Freitas as the first major divestment of his administration and sold to a fund controlled by Brazilian investor Nelson Tanure. The fund, however, failed to pay interest on debt raised to finance the acquisition amid the financial turmoil surrounding Banco Master, which was later liquidated by Brazil’s central bank. The default paved the way for Sabesp to step in and assume control.
With the new controlling structure in place, shareholders and board members replaced interim executives and installed a management team aligned with Sabesp. In addition to Strauch’s appointment as CEO, Pedro Borges Petersen was named chief financial and investor relations officer, reinforcing a leadership bench closely tied to Sabesp and secured through 2028.
The reshuffle signals tighter coordination between sanitation services and water-resource management in Brazil’s most populous state. Under its new leadership and ownership, EMAE now enters a repositioning phase in a capital-intensive and politically sensitive sector.
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