CMPC chief executive Ruiz-Tagle to step down in April 2027
Empresas CMPC said chief executive Francisco Ruiz-Tagle will step down at the end of April 2027, as the Chilean pulp, paper and wood products group sells assets at home and plans a large pulp mill in Brazil. In September CMPC agreed to sell its Chilean containerboard business to Smurfit Westrock for USD 420m, and in October it agreed to sell about 60,000 hectares of Chilean pine plantations to J.P. Morgan Natural Capital for USD 365.5m. A board committee has begun a formal search for his successor.
Why this mattersThe succession comes as CMPC exits Chilean containerboard and plantation assets and plans a 3m tonne a year Brazilian pulp mill, resetting the group's scale and focus.
- Francisco Ruiz-Tagle will step down as CMPC chief executive at the end of April 2027
- CMPC agreed in September 2026 to sell its Chilean containerboard business to Smurfit Westrock for USD 420m
- CMPC agreed in October 2026 to sell about 60,000 hectares of Chilean pine plantations to J.P. Morgan Natural Capital for USD 365.5m
- CMPC holds a preliminary licence for a new 3m tonne a year pulp mill in southern Brazil
- He joined CMPC in 1991 and has been chief executive since 2018
- A board committee has begun a formal search for Ruiz-Tagle's successor
- CMPC's Q3 2026 net loss was about USD 7.2m, against a USD 33.8m profit in Q3 2025
- Nine-month 2026 profit fell 84% year on year to USD 26.5m
- Quarterly EBITDA ran between USD 252m and USD 270m
- The Q3 loss included an USD 11m deferred tax charge linked to the Chilean corrugated packaging sale