Speaker Details
Maria das Graças Silva Foster
Gas & Energy Director, Petrobras and President Gaspetro
A career employee at Petrobras, which she joined as a trainee engineer in 1978, Ms Silva Foster was appointed as Director of Gas & Energy for Petrobras on 21 September 2007 and is, concurrently, CEO of Gaspetro - Petrobras Gás S.A. She is also President of the Board for Transportadora Brasileira Gasoduto Bolívia Brasil S.A. (TBG), as well as Transportadora Associada de Gás S.A. (TAG). She is a member of the Boards of Transpetro - Petrobras Transporte S.A., Petrobras Biocombustível S.A., Braskem S.A. and of the Instituto Brasileiro de Petróleo (IBP), Gás Natural e Biocombustíveis.
From May 2006 to September 2007, Ms Silva Foster was CEO of Petrobras Distribuidora, taking on the additional duties of Financial Director later, the same year.
Prior to this, in September 2005, she was appointed CEO of Petrobras Química - Petroquisa - and concurrently held the position of Executive Manager for Petrochemicals and Fertilisers in the Downstream Directorate of Petrobras.
From January 2003 to September 2005, Ms Silva Foster was Secretary for Oil, Natural Gas and Renewable Fuels in the Brazilian Ministry of Mines and Energy. During this period, by Presidential Decree, she took on the functions of National Executive Secretary of the PROMINP (Programa de Mobilização da Indústria Nacional de Petróleo e Gás Natural), and Inter-Ministerial Coordinator for the National Program for Biodiesel Production and Use, another Federal Government initiative.
Before that, Ms Silva Foster held management positions in the Petrobras Gas & Energy Business Unit and at the R&D Center - CENPES - Centro de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Leopoldo Américo Miguez de Mello and also with TBG - Transportadora Brasileira Gasoduto Bolívia-Brasil S.A.
In 2007, Ms Silva Foster was decorated with the order of Comendador da Ordem do Rio Branco by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2008, she was chosen as Businesswoman of the Year by Claudia magazine, and given the Executive of the Year Equilibrista award by the IBEF/RJ - Instituto Brasileiro de Executivos de Finanças (Brazilian Institute of Financial Executives).
In 2009, Ms Silva Foster was awarded the Medalha Tiradentes, the highest award given by the state of Rio de Janeiro, due to her contributions to the development of the country and the state.
In 2010, Ms Silva Foster was listed in two international rankings. She is among the 10 most powerful executives in Latin America according to the America Economia magazine, which is published in Chile and is focused on Latin American economics, finance and business. Additionally, according to the Financial Times, Ms Silva Foster is among the top 50 most important women in business throughout the world.
Ms Silva Foster graduated in Chemical Engineering from the Universidade Federal Fluminense (UFF), and has masters' degrees in Nuclear Engineering and in Chemical Engineering from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (COPPE/UFRJ). She also has an MBA in Economics from the Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV/RJ).
