Roger Agnelli
Roger Agnelli | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 3, 1959 São Paulo, Brazil |
| Died | March 19, 2016 (aged 56) São Paulo, Brazil |
| Occupation(s) | Investment banker, business executive |
| Years active | 1981–2016 |
| Known for | CEO of Vale SA (2001–2011) |
Roger Agnelli (May 3, 1959 – March 19, 2016) was a prominent Brazilian investment banker and business leader who headed one of the globe’s foremost mining corporations, Vale SA. In 2013, he was ranked as the fourth top-performing CEO worldwide by Harvard Business Review, following influential figures such as Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, and Yun Jong-Yong. His leadership at Vale concluded in 2011 due to disputes with Brazil's ruling Workers' Party, tensions that escalated amid the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent workforce reductions. Agnelli tragically perished in an aviation accident in São Paulo, Brazil, alongside his family and three additional individuals.
Early life, education and family
Agnelli was born in São Paulo into a modest Italian-Brazilian household with no relation to Fiat’s Agnelli family. He earned his degree in economics from Fundação Armando Alvares Penteado (FAAP) in 1981. He was married to Andréia and fathered two children, Ana Carolina and João.
Business career
Beginning his career at Banco Bradesco in 1981, Agnelli ascended to Executive Director by 1998, departing the bank in 2000. Subsequently, he assumed the roles of President and CEO at Bradespar, a Bradesco-affiliated holding company focused on industrial investments, between 2000 and 2001. At the same time, he chaired Vale SA’s Board before being appointed President and CEO of Vale in 2001, a position he held until his dismissal in 2011. From 2012 until his passing in 2016, he was the Founding Partner and CEO of AGN Holding, a private investment firm based in Brazil.
Ouster from Vale amid clashes with Brazilian government
In March 2011, during Agnelli’s tenure as Vale’s President and CEO, the company explored acquiring a 9% share in the contentious Belo Monte Dam hydroelectric initiative. Shortly thereafter, at the behest of the Brazilian government, Agnelli was removed from his leadership role and succeeded by Murilo Ferreira, a veteran Vale executive with close ties to the ruling Workers' Party and President Dilma Rousseff.
Agnelli had previously encountered friction with former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva after implementing layoffs affecting 2,000 employees during the 2008 financial crisis. He also publicly accused members of the Workers Party of attempting to place loyalists within Vale’s management structure to sway critical corporate decisions.
Death
On March 19, 2016, Agnelli, accompanied by his wife and two children among seven individuals total, died when their Comp Air 9 aircraft crashed into two residences shortly after taking off from Campo de Marte Airport in São Paulo en route to a wedding ceremony in Rio de Janeiro.