Murilo Ferreira will retire as CEO of Vale in 2017, once he turns 65 years old.
According to a procedure voted by Vale’s board, 65 is the limit age for high-level executives to retire.
Other Vale executives have also retired from their positions as a result of their ages, including former investor relations director Roberto Castello Branco and former director of ferrous business and strategy Jose Carlos Martins.
Earlier this year, Brazil’s interim president, Michel Temer, indicated his desire to replace Vale’s CEO, Murilo Ferreira, due to political concerns.
Ferreira is said to be an ally of suspended president Dilma Rousseff and former finance minister Guido Mantega, and despite being a privately-held company, state pension funds have seats on Vale’s board through Valepar, which owns 56 percent of Vale’s voting shares.
A similar moved happened when former Vale’s president, Roger Agnelli, who died in a plane crash earlier this year, was replaced during Rousseff’s first term, following pressure from Brazil’s government.
Ferreira has been focusing on Vale’s cost reduction and debt cutting.
A media report said Temer’s proposal was rejected by Vale’s private shareholders, including Bradespar and Mitsui, indicating that Ferreira should hold the CEO seat until his retirement.