MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

President Fernández's new chief advisor chosen

Aracre met with Fernández at the Olivos Presidential residence on Dec. 19

Argentine President Alberto Fernández is to have a new chief advisor following Julián Leunda's resignation on Dec. 6, it was reported Friday in Buenos Aires.

According to Casa Rosada sources, Antonio Aracre, a former CEO of leading agribusiness company Syngenta, is to be appointed as soon as Fernández returns from Brasilia, where he will be attending Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's Jan. 1 inauguration.

Leunda's departure was announced after his name came up in a scandal involving judges traveling to British tycoon Joe Lewis' estate in Lago Escondido.

Aracre is expected to “learn about the challenges of public activity from the point of view of private activity” and make contributions from his experience, according to local press reports.

On Dec. 19, the day after Argentina won the football World Cup in Qatar, Aracre met with Fernández at the Olivos Presidential residence.

“Yesterday World Champions with the national team and today Breakfast in Olivos with President Alberto Fernández,” Aracre posted on Twitter at the time.

“After 36 years in the company and the last twelve as CEO for Latam South, I have decided to retire early from Syngenta as of December 31 of this year, to allow me to dream of new challenges,” Aracre had written on Oct. 12.

“Now comes a time in which I will let myself be surprised by life and I will be able to choose to do what makes me happiest,” he added back then.

Aracre is an accountant with a degree from the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA) and has postgraduate studies at Universidad Argentina de la Empresa (UADE) and Universidad Austral.