The former TAP shareholder says Alexandra Reis is a “great professional” and her departure could have been avoided.

Former TAP shareholder Humberto Pedrosa described Alexandra Reis as a “great professional” on Tuesday, so she was invited to NAV and the government, arguing that the problem could be solved by returning to the director’s position.

At a hearing Tuesday at the TAP Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry, Humberto Pedrosa was asked about Alexandra Reis, a former airline administrator whose role, for which she was originally recruited by TAP, “she performed with great success.”

“I didn’t know her. The one who made the choice was David [filho de Humberto Pedrosa]. It played the role of centralizing procurement with great success, which was not easy at TAP,” he explained.

For a former shareholder, Alexandra Reis is “a great professional, why she was invited to NAV and why she was invited to be Secretary of State.”

Citing that “TAP’s departure was ‘due to incompatibility’ with the former CEO, Pedrosa said the current situation needed to be addressed.

“Alexandra was the director. Maybe the problem could be solved by making her director again, and not firing her, ”he suggested, making it clear that he did not know either the reasons for leaving or the situation in detail.

According to Humberto Pedrosa, “There is a very competent person at the head of TAP right now,” referring to Luis Rodriguez.

“If I could choose, I would choose a man,” he assured. The former TAP shareholder also suggested that “if there is a national group interested” in the airline, “of course it would like to be a part”.

“Today I would do it with great pleasure, and I think it would be worthwhile to find a group that could stay with TAP and have the opportunity, in the period, of course, it should be long, perhaps, to return to Name the funds that the state has invested in TAR. I would like, and I would like it to be fully loginable,” he replied.

On Chinese conglomerate HNA’s entry into the TAP capital, Humberto Pedrosa said there were “three or four operations,” one of which started with David Nieleman, given that HNA had a stake in Azul.

According to the businessman, HNA asked Neeleman if Atlantic Gateway could sell some of the capital in TAP, and in return offered to capitalize the airline.

“By the way, I also suggested that ME Brasil was to be bought. At that time, HNA bought everything that appeared in aviation, […] and faced with this situation, I agreed to sell some of the capital, which we ended up buying back later, with the fall of HNA,” explained Humberto Pedrosa.

The former TAP shareholder also said that the then infrastructure minister, Pedro Nuno Santos, “and possibly even the prime minister,” was informed of the deal.

Chinese conglomerate HNA announced on March 19, 2019 in a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange that it was selling its 9% stake in TAP through Atlantic Gateway for $55 million ($48.6 million). Euro).

More than half of this indirect stake in TAP was sold to Global Aviation Ventures LLC, a US venture capital fund focused on the aviation sector, for $30 million. The remainder passed into the hands of the Brazilian airline Azul SA in exchange for US$25 million, according to a statement sent to the Chinese stock exchange at the time.