Former Head of Brazil's Vale Mining Firm Dies in Plane Crash

Roger Agnelli, the former chief of the world’s leading iron ore producer, Vale, died on Saturday in a plane crash, a source close to aviation authorities told Reuters. He was 56.

Agnelli, his wife and two adult children were among seven killed when his Comp Air 9 turboprop monoplane slammed into two homes around 3:20 p.m. local time, minutes after taking off from an airport in northern São Paulo, according to the source, who asked not to be named due to the sensitive nature of the information.

Emergency services said the pilot and six passengers were killed in the crash. Aviation authorities confirmed that Agnelli was the owner of the plane, but could not provide a passenger list.

"The airplane fell with seven people on-board and all died on the spot. We are looking for other possible victims. The residence's owner was rescued," said a spokesperson for local firefighters.

Sources reported that Agnelli was traveling to a wedding ceremony in Rio de Janeiro with his wife Andréia, son João, daughter Anna Carolina, and their two spouses. The weather was clear at the time of the crash.

Fire crews put out the fire of one of the buildings damaged from the plane crash. | Photo: AFP

Agnelli, famous for his feisty nature and discipline, assumed the top job at Vale in July 2001 after 19 years as a corporate and investment banker with Banco Bradesco.

During his 10 year stint at the helm of Vale, Agneli turned the metal and mining corporation into a global powerhouse, accurately predicting the rise of China as a major minerals consumer, a crucial wager which in part led to Vale accruing more than US$84 billion in investments and acquisitions

"He was a visionary that corporate Brazil will miss badly," said Lawrence Pih, who for decades ran flour mill Grupo Pacífico SA and sat on the board at the São Paulo Federation of Industries with Agnelli.

In a Harvard Business Review ranking of the world's best-performing chief executive officers, published in February 2013, Agnelli came fourth, behind only Apple Inc's Steve Jobs, Amazon.com Inc's Jeff Bezos and Samsung Group's Yun Jong-Yong.

Agnelli earned the spot in the Harvard ranking after racking up a consolidated return of 934 percent during his tenure at Vale, whose market value more than doubled in the period.