Carlos Aguiar of Fibria Wins RISI's 2011 Latin American CEO of the Year Award

SAO PAULO, August 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

RISI, the leading information provider for the global forest products industry, has named Mr. Carlos Aguiar, Former Chief Executive Officer of Fibria, as the 2011 Latin American CEO of the Year.  The award will be presented to Luciana Aguiar, Mr. Aguiar's daughter, who will receive the award in his place as he won't be able to attend RISI's 6th Latin American Pulp & Paper Outlook Conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil on August 29 - 31, 2011.

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Mr. Aguiar was chosen as the RISI Latin American CEO of the Year by a group of investment analysts and portfolio managers covering the forest products industry.  The analysts responded to a survey organized by RISI and the criteria for nomination included leadership, vision and strategic accomplishment.

Mr. Aguiar was chosen as the winner due to his significant achievements in managing the company's leverage situation and his outstanding financial discipline and control.   Fibria, the largest bleached eucalyptus kraft (BEK) pulp producer, reported a boom in its net profit in 1Q 2011 over 1Q 2010 from Real 9 million ($5.7 million) to Real 389 million ($247.8 million) under Mr. Aguiar's leadership.  Mr. Aguiar commented, "Although Fibria has only two years, the company has already shown its potential and capacity to produce more than 5 million tons of pulp per year with an operation based on sustainability and efficiency due to the 875 thousand hectares of renewable forest plantations in which the company invests."

Mr. Aguiar served as Fibria Chief Executive Officer from September 2009 until June 2011. Before that, Mr. Aguiar served as president of Aracruz from April 1998 until the Aracruz merger. Prior to becoming president of Aracruz, Mr. Aguiar served as vice president from April 1993 to April 1998 and as an executive officer from 1985 to 1993. After joining Aracruz in 1981, he held various managerial positions in Aracruz's operations department. Mr. Aguiar is also a member of numerous industry associations in Brazil and abroad. He is a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences; vice president of Bracelpa; member of the Associacao Brasileira Tecnica de Celulose e Papel (ABTCP); member of the Industry Federation of the State of Espirito Santo (FINDES); member of the Industry Federation of the State of Bahia (FIEB); member of the Associacao de Comercio Exterior do Brasil (AEB), and member of Tappi since 1987 and member of its board since 2007. Mr. Aguiar holds a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering and Industrial Management from the Universidade Federal do Ceara, Brazil.

Aguiar will become a member of Fibria's Board of Directors in 2012. Marcelo Castelli, who was the company's director of Forestry, Paper, Strategy and Supplies, assumed the post previously held by Carlos Aguiar, who headed the company since it was founded, on September 1, 2009. In line with the best corporate governance practices, this process of succession was announced on March 3rd of this year.

Speakers from the sector's leading companies and associations, including:  VBI Timberland, Stora Enso, Abigraf, Kimberly Clark Brasil, Grafica Bandeirantes, Grupo Orsa, Suzano, Celulosa Argentina, and Grupo Condi will be represented at the RISI Latin American Conference.

RISI's Latin American CEO of the Year Award was inaugurated in 2007.  RISI organizes four regional CEO awards each year in Europe, Asia, Latin America and North America, which are handed out to the winners at the regional RISI conferences. In addition, the Global CEO of the Year award is presented at the PPI Awards event, which will be held in Brussels on November 15 this year.

About the RISI Latin American Conference

The 6th RISI Latin American Pulp & Paper Outlook Conference will be held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Sao Paulo, Brazil on August 29 - 31, 2011. The conference will address some of the key issues in today's Latin American pulp and paper market. HP, ColorLok, Voith, BTG, Albany, and Cenibra have signed on as official sponsors for the event. Conference programs and registration details are available online at:  http://www.risi.com/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, biomass, tissue, nonwovens, printing and publishing industries to help them make better decisions.

Headquartered in Boston, MA, RISI operates additional offices throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. More information can be found at http://www.risi.com.

About Fibria

Fibria has a production capacity of 5.25 million tons per year with an operation entirely based on renewable forest plantations. The company has 875 thousand hectares of forest areas in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Sao Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Espirito Santo, Mato Grosso do Sul and Bahia, of which 323 thousand are used as permanent preservation areas.

Contact:
Jennifer Plourde
Associate Marketing Manager
RISI
4 Alfred Circle
Bedford, MA 01730 USA
Tel: +1-781-734-8917
jplourde@risi.com

SOURCE RISI