Brazil’s Vale, one of the world’s largest iron ore producers, said on Thursday it received a request from its top shareholder, pension fund Previ, for a shareholders’ meeting to vote on the removal of chairman Daniel Andre Stieler.
Previ, which manages pensions for employees of state-run lender Banco do Brasil, proposed appointing Jose Mauricio Coelho to Vale’s board and backing current board member Manuel Oliveira as chairman, the miner said in a filing.
According to Vale, Previ has argued that Oliveira will contribute to “the strengthening of governance practices, the improvement of strategic management and the alignment with the interests of shareholders and stakeholders.”
The mining company did not release the document it received from Previ. The pension fund did not immediately respond to a request for comment, sent outside business hours.
Vale said its board is assessing the steps required to convene the shareholders meeting.
Previ holds about a 7% stake in Vale, according to regulatory documents. The fund swapped its own head last month, naming Marcio Antonio Chiumento as CEO after Joao Luiz Fukunaga resigned.
Chiumento joined Vale’s board earlier this year.
(By Andre Romani; Editing by Kylie Madry and Daina Beth Solomon)
