Novelis Taps Veteran Emilio Braghi as COO to Drive Global Operations

ATLANTA, GA – January 19, 2026 – Novelis Inc., the world leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, has appointed long-time executive Emilio Braghi as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO) in a strategic move to bolster its global manufacturing capabilities. The appointment, effective immediately, places a 25-year company veteran in a critical role designed to sharpen the firm's operational performance and reinforce its leadership in the sustainable materials market. Braghi will continue to report directly to President & CEO Steve Fisher.

In his new capacity, Braghi is tasked with a significant mandate: to enhance operational performance and drive excellence in safety, quality, and reliability across the company's vast global footprint. This internal promotion signals a commitment to continuity and leveraging deep institutional knowledge as Novelis navigates a complex industrial landscape.

A Veteran's Mandate for Operational Excellence

Emilio Braghi's career at Novelis is a testament to his deep-rooted experience across the company's core markets. Since joining in 1999 as a sales manager in Europe, he has steadily climbed the ranks, holding leadership positions that span continents and functions. His journey includes serving as Vice President of Operations in both Asia and North America before taking the helm as President of Novelis Europe in 2016, a position he will retain alongside his new COO duties while remaining based in Küsnacht, Switzerland.

This extensive background provides Braghi with a unique, holistic view of the company's operational strengths and challenges. His appointment comes as Novelis, despite reporting strong net sales of $17.1 billion in fiscal year 2025, has faced significant headwinds. Recent financial reports have consistently cited pressures from rising scrap aluminum prices, an unfavorable product mix, and tariff impacts, which have compressed Adjusted EBITDA margins. Furthermore, operational disruptions, such as the production interruptions at its Sierre, Switzerland plant in the previous fiscal year, underscore the critical need for resilient and world-class manufacturing standards.

CEO Steve Fisher emphasized Braghi's suitability for the role. "Emilio's deep operational expertise and global leadership experience make him uniquely qualified to drive performance improvements across our business," Fisher stated. "I am confident he will help us reach new levels of operational excellence and strengthen Novelis' position as a supplier of choice in the aluminum industry."

Under Braghi's leadership as President of Novelis Europe, the division achieved its "best historical EBITDA" in fiscal year 2020. He is also credited with implementing the "Focused 5" initiative in the region, a framework targeting improvements in safety, customer centricity, quality, operational excellence, and return on capital employed—a potential blueprint for his new global role.

Accelerating the Drive for a Circular Economy

Braghi's promotion is inextricably linked to Novelis' core identity as a pioneer in sustainability. The company, which is the world's largest recycler of aluminum, has built its brand on providing low-carbon solutions, particularly for the beverage can and automotive industries. Operational excellence is not just a matter of financial performance; it is the engine that powers the company's ambitious environmental goals.

Novelis has set forth its "3x30" initiative, a vision to achieve three key milestones by 2030: reach 75% average recycled content in its products (up from 63% in FY2025), become the lowest-emissions flat-rolled aluminum provider, and lead the industry in circularity. Achieving these targets requires an exceptionally efficient and reliable operational backbone to optimize recycling processes, minimize energy consumption, and reduce waste across its global facilities.

Braghi has long been a champion of these principles. During his tenure leading the European division, he vocally advocated for aluminum's infinite recyclability and focused on strategies to deliver products with the lowest possible CO2 footprint. His new global mandate is expected to scale these efforts, ensuring that best practices in sustainable manufacturing are standardized and implemented worldwide.

"I am honored to take on the role of Chief Operating Officer and continue working alongside our talented global team," Braghi said in the official announcement. "Together, we can build on Novelis' strong foundation to deliver world-class operational performance, advance our safety and quality standards, and create even greater value for our customers and stakeholders."

Forging a Unified Global Strategy

The appointment also highlights a strategic push toward greater global integration. With manufacturing facilities across North America, Europe, Asia, and South America, ensuring consistent standards and synergistic operations is a monumental task. Braghi's experience managing operations in three of these four key regions makes him exceptionally suited to lead this charge.

His task will involve harmonizing processes, optimizing complex supply chains, and fostering a unified culture of excellence that transcends regional differences. By combining the European presidency with the global COO role, Novelis is creating a powerful link between one of its largest operating regions and its overarching global strategy. This structure is designed to facilitate the rapid dissemination of successful initiatives and ensure that operational improvements are cohesively managed.

This integrated approach is crucial as Novelis competes in a market where customers, particularly in the automotive and packaging sectors, are increasingly global and demand consistent quality and sustainability credentials from their suppliers. A unified operational strategy under Braghi is intended to deliver precisely that, strengthening the company's value proposition.

Navigating a Competitive and Demanding Market

Novelis operates in a highly competitive environment, facing off against other industrial giants like Norsk Hydro and Alcoa, which are also heavily invested in sustainable aluminum. Norsk Hydro, for example, markets its Hydro CIRCAL products with a minimum of 75% post-consumer scrap, while Alcoa is a key partner in developing zero-carbon smelting technology. In this climate, leadership is defined not just by sustainability claims but by the proven ability to deliver high-quality, low-carbon products at scale and with unwavering reliability.

Braghi's appointment as COO is a direct response to this market reality. By focusing intently on the fundamentals of manufacturing—safety, quality, and efficiency—Novelis aims to solidify its competitive advantage. The move also aligns with the strategic vision of its parent company, Hindalco Industries Limited, the metals flagship of the Aditya Birla Group, which has prioritized sustainable growth and global leadership in the metals sector.

As industries worldwide intensify their decarbonization efforts, the demand for responsibly produced, lightweight, and infinitely recyclable materials like aluminum is set to grow. By placing a seasoned operational expert at the helm of its global manufacturing, Novelis is positioning itself to not only meet that demand but to set the standard for performance in the circular economy.