Ozires Silva (born January 8, 1931) is the founder of

Embraer Embraer S.A. () is a Brazilian multinational aerospace manufacturer that produces commercial, military, executive and agricultural aircraft, and provides aeronautical services. It was founded in 1969 in São José dos Campos, São Paulo, where ...

and a famous

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

. Ozires was born in

Bauru Bauru () is a Brazilian municipality in midwestern region of the state of São Paulo. It is the main city of the mesoregion and microregion of Bauru. The population is 379,297 (2020 est.) in an area of 667.68 km². Established in 189 ...

–

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

. He graduated on Escola de Aeronáutica do Campo dos Afonsos (

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

) as a

military pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they ar ...

. He then served the

Brazilian Air Force "Wings that protect the country" , colours = , colours_label = , march = Hino dos Aviadores , mascot = , anniversaries = 22 May (anniver ...

for 4 years in the

Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...

region. In 1962, Ozires graduated from the

Aeronautics Technological Institute Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifies ...

(ITA) as an

aeronautical engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is sim ...

. He was immediately hired by the

Brazilian General Command for Aerospace Technology (CTA) The Brazilian Department of Science and Aerospace Technology ( pt, Departamento de Ciência e Tecnologia Aeroespacial; DCTA) is the national military research center for aviation and space flight. It is subordinated to the Brazilian Air Force (FAB ...

, where he would become part of the IPD - Instituto de Pesquisas e Desenvolvimento (current IAE - Instituto de Aeronáutica e Espaço). He soon became the lead engineer of the

Bandeirante The ''Bandeirantes'' (), literally "flag-carriers", were slavers, explorers, adventurers, and fortune hunters in early Colonial Brazil. They are largely responsible for Brazil's great expansion westward, far beyond the Tordesillas Line of 149 ...

project. The first Bandeirante prototype flew on October 26, 1968. After that, Ozires attempted to convince private industries to produce the Bandeirante in series, without success. His efforts, however, contributed to the creation of a government-owned aircraft manufacturer,

, of which he became president on July 29, 1969. In 1986, Ozires left Embraer. He became president of

Petrobras Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., better known by the portmanteau Petrobras (), is a state-owned Brazilian multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The company's name translates to Brazilian Petrole ...

for a short time, and also became Minister of Infra-Structure from March 15, 1990, to March 27, 1991. He returned to Embraer from 1991 to 1995 to conduct the privatization process. He was also president of

Varig VARIG (acronym for Viação Aérea RIo-Grandense, ''Rio Grandean Airways'') was the first airline founded in Brazil, in 1927. From 1965 until 1990, it was Brazil's leading airline, and virtually its only international one. In 2005, Varig went ...

from 2000 to 2002. Ozires Silva was the first witness to report the May 19th,

1986 São Paulo UFO sighting The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

, when he was flying on an executive Xingu

turbo-prop A turboprop is a turbine engine that drives an aircraft Propeller (aeronautics), propeller. A turboprop consists of an intake, reduction gearbox, gas compressor, compressor, combustor, turbine, and a propelling nozzle. Air enters the intake an ...

plane. Ozires is also former (2004) Director of Technology of AVAMAX, Executive Vice-president of Academia Brasileira de Estudos Avançados "Dr. Adolfo Bezerra de Menezes Cavalcanti", and President of Pele Nova, a

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used ...

company and President at World Trade Center Advisory Board. He is currently dean of , a private university in Brazil.

Published books

* A Decolagem de um Sonho - História da Criação da Embraer - Lemos Editorial - 1998 * Cartas a um Jovem Empreendedor - Elsevier Editora - 2006 * A Decolagem de um Grande Sonho - Elsevier Editora - 2008 * Ethanol - A Brazilian revolution - 2008

References

Ozires Silva biography (in Portuguese)

External links

Embraer

Varig

IAE - Aeronautics and Space Institute (in Portuguese)

Petrobras (in Portuguese)

Academia Brasileira de Estudos Avançados "Dr. Adolfo Bezerra de Menezes Cavalcanti" (in Portuguese)

Pele Nova (in Portuguese)
1931 births Living people People from Bauru Aerospace engineers Brazilian aviators Brazilian chief executives Brazilian Air Force personnel Recipients of the Great Cross of the National Order of Scientific Merit (Brazil) Government ministers of Brazil {{Brazil-business-bio-stub