Novelis announces executive leadership appointments

Atlanta-based aluminum rolling and recycling company Novelis Inc. has appointed executive leadership in key regions and roles in order to accelerate global growth, as executives Roberta Soares and Cary Chenanda have been named regional presidents for South America and North America, respectively.

Former President of South America Francisco Pires has transitioned to the new role of chief transformation officer, while former interim President of North America Tadeu Nardocci will transition to overseeing the company’s large capital projects as executive vice president of manufacturing operations.

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“Each of these individuals brings a wealth of experience in manufacturing leadership and a proven track record of success,” CEO Steve Fisher says. “Their collective leadership will bolster Novelis’ commitment to operational excellence, customer service, innovation and sustainability. We look forward to their contributions as Novelis continues to set the course for the global aluminum industry.”

Novelis South America

Soares has been named senior vice president and president, Novelis South America, effective June 1. As head of the region, Soares will lead all aspects of the company’s business in South America, which had net sales of $2.46 billion in fiscal year 2024. The region is made up of two plants and approximately 1,700 employees serving the beverage packaging and specialties markets.

Soares most recently was vice president of operations at Novelis South America. Prior to that, she spent four years as vice president of finance and IT at Novelis South America. She joined the company in 2000 as a marketing intelligence and financial planning analyst in Brazil.

Over the course of her Novelis tenure, she has held roles in operations, finance, strategy, marketing and recycling.

Novelis North America

Chenanda has been appointed executive vice president and president of Novelis North America and will lead all aspects of the company’s North American business. Novelis’ North American unit had net sales of $6.72 billion in fiscal year 2024, and the region consists of 15 plants and more than 4,000 employees serving the beverage packaging, automotive and specialties markets.

Chenanda joined Novelis in April of this year as president designate of the North America region. Prior to Novelis, Chenanda spent 25 years at Cummins and most recently held the position of vice president and general manager of Cummins Emissions Solutions, a $4 billion business with 4,500 employees, 12 manufacturing plants, seven technical centers and two joint ventures worldwide.

During his tenure at Cummins, Chenanda held positions of increasing responsibility across engineering, marketing, purchasing, operations and general management.

Transformation office

Pires has been appointed senior vice president and chief transformation officer. In this role, he will focus on driving action on the company’s vision to advance aluminum as “the material of choice for circular solutions.”

Pires most recently was senior vice president and president of Novelis South America. Prior to that, he served as chief operating officer for Novelis South America.

Pires joined the company in 2012 as director of procurement in South America. In the years since, he also has held leadership positions in sales, procurement and supply chain for Novelis South America.

Expansion

Nardocci will now serve as Novelis’ executive vice president of manufacturing operations and will oversee a number of investment projects already underway, including the approximately $4.1 billion investment to build an integrated 600,000-metric-ton rolling and recycling plant serving the beverage packaging and automotive markets in Bay Minette, Alabama.

A 45-year veteran of Novelis, Nardocci has expertise in capital expansion projects and has held multiple executive leadership positions throughout his tenure with the company, including interim president of Novelis North America; chief manufacturing officer; president of Novelis South America; president of Novelis Europe; and senior vice president of innovation, technology and strategy.