José Luciano Penido of VCP wins second consecutive nomination for RISI's Latin American CEO of the Year
SAO PAULO, Brazil, Oct. 2, 2008 - RISI, the leading information provider for the global forest products industry, today announced that VCP's Chief Executive Officer, José Luciano Penido, has been selected for the second time as the Latin American CEO of the Year.
Penido was nominated for the award via a survey of investment analysts and portfolio managers covering the forest products industry. The criteria for nomination include leadership, vision and strategic accomplishment.
The 2008 award will be presented to Penido on Thursday, October 9 at RISI's 3rd annual Latin American Pulp & Paper Outlook Conference in São Paulo, Brazil. Penido will also participate in the CEO Panel at the conference on the same day. For more details, view the Latin American conference program at this link: www.risiinfo.com/events/la_conf/program.html
Penido commented, "What a surprise on my nomination as RISI's Latin America CEO of the Year for the second consecutive year. I am very much honored with this recognition stamped with the prestige of RISI and supported by the community of analysts."
The investment community voted overwhelmingly to give the award to Penido for the second year running, mainly based on his bold move to merge VCP with fellow Brazilian pulp producer, Aracruz. Penido said in an interview in the October issue of Pulp & Paper International (PPI), "We are now at the very beginning of what is going to be the formation of a very large pulp company. at its conclusion, and when all new projects are up an running, the NewCo will be producing seven million tones of pulp a year which is about one third of global capacity."
Analysts also pointed to Penido's ongoing transformation of VCP into a major pulp producer and his continued expansion plans for the company. These include two major greenfield projects: Horizonte Project in Mato Grosso do Sul and Losango Project in Rio Grande do Sul which together will add 2.6 million tonnes of pulp capacity to VCP's portfolio.
Penido has been at the helm of VCP since January 2004. Prior to that, he was the CEO of Samarco, a leader in the iron ore mining and pelletizing industry for eleven years. Penido is a board member of the Ethos Institute for Corporate Citizenship, the FDC management school and also of the CEATS-Third Sector Administration and Entrepreneurship Center, at the University of São Paulo. He has a degree in mining engineering from the Federal University of Minas Gerais.
For more information on RISI's 3rd Latin American Pulp and Paper Outlook Conference, visit www.risiinfo.com/events/la_conf/.
About RISI
RISI is the leading information provider for the global forest products industry. The company works with clients in the pulp and paper, wood products, timber, tissue, nonwovens, printing and publishing industries to help them make better decisions.
Headquartered in Boston (Bedford), Massachusetts, RISI operates offices in Brussels, Belgium; Atlanta, Georgia; San Francisco, California; Portland, Oregon; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Shanghai, China; Singapore; and Charlottesville, Virginia. More information can be found at www.risiinfo.com.
About VCP
VCP – Votorantim Celulose e Papel is a leading company in the pulp and paper sector in Brazil. The company also represents a large business area within the Votorantim Group, one of the leading conglomerates in Latin America. The company's operations are integrated and range from wood production, which is its raw material, to the distribution of product to end consumers. Wood production also is conducted in partnership with farmers, through forestry partner programs.
VCP shares are traded at Corporate Governance Level 1 on the São Paulo Stock Exchange (BOVESPA) and have been part of the exchange's Business Sustainability Index (ISE) since December 2005. Furthermore, the Company's ADR-3 shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
To learn more, visit www.vcp.com.br/default.htm.