Shortly after having defined the appointment of Carlos Gustavo Cano as president of the Board of Directors of Ecopetrol and that the decision-making body endorsed the presidency of Felipe Bayón, it became known that there was a change in the Board.
A day later, this Friday, October 28, it was revealed that Cano had left and was put in his place. Saul Kattan. This is one of the members who joined the team last Monday 24 and whose appointment to the Board had been promoted by the national government itself (as in the case of Cano).
This sudden change apparently occurredr due to differences between President Gustavo Petro with the decision that the presidency of the board be occupied by Cano and that Bayón’s presidency be supported by the company.
Although Cano remains on the board for the time being, he will not be the one who directs it for now. The decision to remove him from office was made on Thursday, October 27, the day his election was announced.
(See: Dollar on the rise after removal of the president of the Board of Ecopetrol).
“President Petro raised his voice of protest and disapproval, and, through several of his immediate collaborators, ordered the members of the Board affected by him, and also those who are not, to advance my dismissal in this morning’s session. as chairman of the boardCano said in a letter.
In this regard, President Gustavo Petro said through his Twitter account that “the directive of the President of the Republic for the action of his representatives in the new board of directors is to raise the value of Ecopetrol.”
This since “the new board of directors is made up of people who have already increased the value of companies such as EEB and ETB“, said. It should be remembered that Kattan was president of the ETB appointed during the mayoralty of Gustavo Petro in Bogotá, in 2012.
The effects of this decision were mixed. Although it was feared that the dollar and the stock would have a reaction, the truth is that the papers of the oil finished higher (2.28%) in the Colombian Stock Exchange and the same was seen with the ADRs (American Depositary Receipts) listed on the Nyse and that during the day showed a positive variation of 2.6%.
In the case of the dollar, although there was an increase during the day, the behavior after was bearish to close 0.56% higher.
However, there are other effects related to these changes in the decision-making body of the largest company in the country.
(Keep reading: Who will be the new president of the Board of Directors of Ecopetrol?).
1. Ecopetrol configures its board of directors like any other company according to shareholding, the majority of shares belongs to the State
2. The new board of directors is made up of people who have already increased the value of companies such as EEB and ETB.
– Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) October 28, 2022
In this regard, Sergio Guzmán, director of Colombia Risk Analysis, explained that for the moment this will not have an effect on the markets since the markets received with greater force the support to Felipe Bayón, generating calm.
He said that while this decision may not have an effect on the markets, it does hint at a disconnect between the government and its guidelines for new board members.
However, the Minister of Finance, José Antonio Ocampo, explained that there was a “premature announcement” of Cano’s appointment, due to an interruption by the Board, and this Friday when it ended “the Board presented by the Government was approved” he explained.
He added that therefore Cano was not dismissed and it did not represent a negative consideration regarding his profile.
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