Maria das Gracas Silva Foster Biography

Maria das Graças Foster (née Silva) ( pronunciation (help·info)) (born 26 August 1953), commonly known as Graça Foster, is a Brazilian business executive and chemical engineer. She was the CEO of Petrobras-Petróleo Brasil, Brazil's state-controlled oil company, which is located in Rio de Janeiro. She was the first woman in the world to head a major oil-and-gas company. In April 2012, she was listed on the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world. In 2014, she was recognized as the 16th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes Magazine. She was ranked by Fortune magazine in 2013 as the Most Powerful Woman in Business (outside the U.S.) for the second year in a row.