Chilean Pulp Maker CMPC’s CEO to Step Down as Company Reshapes Business

Francisco Ruiz-Tagle will step down as chief executive of Empresas CMPC at the end of April 2027, the Chilean pulp, paper and wood products company said, as it sells assets at home and plans a large pulp mill in Brazil.

Ruiz-Tagle, who joined CMPC in 1991 and has run it since 2018, is leaving at a turning point for the company. In September, CMPC agreed to sell its Chilean containerboard business to Smurfit Westrock for USD420 million. This month, it agreed to sell about 60,000 hectares of pine plantations in Chile to J.P. Morgan Natural Capital for USD365.5 million and won a preliminary license for a pulp mill in southern Brazil with capacity of 3 million metric tons a year.

The board said Ruiz-Tagle had laid the groundwork for a new cycle at CMPC as the global pulp industry changes. He will stay on the job until he leaves to lead strategy and help with the handover, the company said in a filing with Chile’s Financial Market Commission.

A committee of directors has begun a formal search for his successor, and the appointment will be announced later.