Embraer Names New CFO After Azul Poaches Antonio Garcia

Embraer lost its CFO to a customer this week—and the manner of the succession tells you everything about where the planemaker stands in 2026: confident enough to promote from within, deep enough in talent to do so without missing a beat.

Embraer (EMBJ3) announced Friday morning that its board had elected Felipe Santana Santiago de Lima as executive vice president of finance and investor relations, effective April 13, according to a material fact filing with the CVM reported by Money Times, Exame, and InvestNews. Santana replaces Antonio Garcia, who left to become CFO and investor relations officer at Azul Linhas Aéreas (AZUL4), Brazil’s third-largest airline and one of Embraer’s biggest commercial customers.

An Internal Pick With 18 Years of Depth

Santana has spent his entire career at Embraer. Over 18 years, he led teams across financial operations, treasury, insurance, customer finance, and shared services, most recently serving as Global Director of Treasury. His experience spans capital markets, liability management, aircraft financing, and risk management—the exact toolkit required for a company that ended 2025 with a record $31.3 billion order backlog and is guiding for $8.2–$8.5 billion in revenue this year.

Embraer emphasized that the appointment ensures continuity and implies no changes to the company’s financial strategy, operations, or commitments. The internal promotion is consistent with Embraer’s culture of developing senior leadership from within—CEO Francisco Gomes Neto, who has led the company’s turnaround since 2020, is also a long-tenured executive. For a company whose shares have risen more than tenfold from pandemic lows, investor continuity at the CFO level matters.

Why Azul Wanted Garcia

Garcia’s departure to Azul was announced last week when the airline disclosed that Alexandre Wagner Malfitani would leave his CFO and IRO roles effective April 20. Azul’s decision to recruit from Embraer’s C-suite rather than from another airline reflects the complexity of its own financial situation: the carrier completed a comprehensive debt restructuring in 2025 and needs a finance chief with deep aerospace capital markets credibility to navigate its post-restructuring balance sheet.

The timing is notable. Embraer delivered 44 aircraft in Q1 2026, a 47% year-on-year increase, and its global expansion strategy now spans commercial jets, executive aviation, defense (the KC-390 and Super Tucano), and urban air mobility through the Eve subsidiary. Managing that portfolio’s financial architecture—from aircraft lease structures to defense contract financing to a pre-revenue eVTOL business—requires precisely the kind of deep institutional knowledge that an 18-year insider like Santana brings. The market appeared unfazed: EMBJ3 traded normally Friday morning with no unusual volatility around the announcement.

Related Coverage: Embraer Q1 2026 Deliveries Surge 47% • How Embraer Became Aviation’s Third Force • Embraer Ends 2025 With Record Deliveries