Maria das Graças Silva Foster (About this sound pronunciation (help·info)) (born 26 August 1953), also known as Graça Foster,[1] is a Brazilian business executive and chemical engineer. She is the CEO of Petrobras-Petróleo Brasil, Brazil’s state-controlled oil company, which is located in Rio de Janeiro. She is the first woman in the world to head a major oil-and-gas company.[2][3][4] In April 2012, she was listed on the Time 100 list of the most influential people in the world.[2] In 2014, she was recognized as the 16th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes Magazine.[5] 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.[6]