Please tell us a few words about yourself and your career path.

My name is Renner Librelato and I graduated in Industrial Engineering from the Federal University of Viçosa in MG - Brazil in 2005. Currently, I’m the head of FP&A South America and I work at the corporate office in Contagem, Brazil. After graduation, my first experience was at Falconi consultancy, where I was expatriated to Canada and learned about the steel industry market. Upon returning to Brazil, I worked on different projects like cost reduction, revenue increase, process restructuring, project management, and strategic planning in various market segments, including telecommunications, oil & gas, food and mining. In 2012, I was invited to structure the management system of the mining division at the former Magnesita. In 2015, I left the company to participate in a project at a private equity fund and returned in 2022 to my current position.

Why exactly did you apply for RHI Magnesita?

RHI Magnesita is one of the largest companies in my state and has an excellent history and reputation in the local community. Its employees take pride in working here. Moreover, as a multinational company with operations in several countries, the work here has a different dynamics with a high level of professionalism.

What is your current role and how does your day look like?

I’m currently the head of FP&A South America and I’m based in Contagem - MG, Brazil. Among my responsibilities, I’m in charge of developing the company's annual budget, creating economic and financial monthly scenarios, analyzing variances, products costing runs, assessing investment feasibility, preparing monthly and quarterly financial performance reports, presenting to local and global executive directors, and supporting the reporting process to shareholders and board members.

How did you get interested in this field?

During my industrial engineering studies, I began to have access to the universe of production costs, and in 2010, I pursued a post-graduate degree in Finance at the Dom Cabral Foundation. From then on, my experience in finance deepened. Some consulting projects had a strong financial focus, and I learned a lot from them. The finance universe naturally emerged in my career, and what stands out to me the holistic vision that the finance area allows me to have. FP&A is one of the few areas that has the so-called big-picture perspective, which I highly value. For all these reasons, the finance area is very attractive to me.

What’s been your most exciting project to date?

Currently, one of my main projects is the financial structuring of our operations in Argentina. The country is going through a very delicate moment, with hyperinflation, currency devaluation, and a politically stressful scenario due to the national elections at the end of the year. Argentina is an important production hub for all of South America, and it needs to have an operational and financial strategy that can withstand these market variations and protect our business unit.

What’s the most unexpected skill you’ve gained at RHI Magnesita?

Certainly, one of the unexpected skills that I have developed at RHI Magnesita is the ability to improve my interpersonal relationships. The company has a highly collaborative culture that requires us to have frequent communication and a focus on others, considering their opinions and contributions. This challenges me to step out of my personal universe and broaden my horizons.

What’s the best part about life at RHI Magnesita?

I believe that the best part of working at RHI Magnesita is the work environment. People are highly engaged, ethical and professional. Our board of directors is extremely accessible, and I consider our organizational structure to be fairly horizontal, which favors decision-making and makes our processes faster. These are characteristics that I value, and that's why RHI Magnesita is a great place to work for me.

Any advice to people who consider applying?

Sure, my suggestion is to have a strong technical background for the position you want to pursue. RHI Magnesita is a high-performance company and it's crucial to have good expertise to work with us. Furthermore, it's worth mentioning that our culture is inclusive, diverse, and environmentally conscious. These are our values, and if the candidate shares them, it's already an advantage.