The Latin Trade Group has announced the selection of Antonio Sergio Alfano, CFO of Brazil's Klabin, as CFO of the Year 2015.  The award was presented to Alfano during Latin Trade's CFO Forum, sponsored by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and held this past week at the Tivoli Sao Paulo Hotel - Mofarrej, in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

As Brazil faces challenging economic times, Alfano has successfully driven Klabin's finances with a sound and agile strategy, making extraordinary use of the company's assets, and as a result, this year Klabin posted a strong 24% EBITDA growth. Alfano's expertise and guidance is also reflected in the fact that Klabin's stock price dropped by only 0.3% since a peak in 2013. Klabin is Brazil's biggest paper producer, exporter, and recycling company, with 14 plants across Brazil and one in Argentina.

Alfano has been CFO of Klabin since 2003, but his career with the company began in 1974, and he has held posts such as executive director of planning and control, and executive strategic resources. The highlight of his long-standing career with the firm will reach another climax next year, when the company opens a new $2.29-billion plant in Parana, southern Brazil.

 

"The award marked the outcome of the completion of this new $2.29-billion plant project that we had been dreaming about since 2003 and that will become a reality by the end of next March. The planted area had to increase by 110,000 hectares to be able to supply the plant. It was a project that required a lot of determination and discipline to be completed," Alfano said during his acceptance speech.

LT CFO Forums are private events that offer CFOs, finance directors, treasurers, and controllers from various industries in Latin America the opportunity to participate in high-level peer group discussions and interact in a private setting. The events equip CFOs with expert insight that helps them prepare for challenges across domestic and international borders.

Since 2005, LT CFO Events foster a greater level of discussion and interaction between senior executives focusing on the trends, challenges and solutions through regional conferences in Miami, Fla., USA, and local chapters in key markets in Latin America.