He succeeds Alexandre Almeida, who is leaving the company to pursue other business interests.
Palmieri brings to Novelis more than 30 years of experience in the metals and engineering industries, including 25 years with Rio Tinto Alcan where he held a succession of international leadership positions in such areas as business development, primary metal and energy production.
Palmieri's most recent position was Aluminum Business Director for Votorantim Metais Ltda, the entity holding the aluminium, nickel and zinc operations of the Votorantim Group, a large industrial conglomerate based in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The group’s operations include Companhia Brasileira de Aluminio (CBA), one of the country's largest aluminium producers.
Brazilian born, Palmieri holds a bachelor's degree in Metallurgical Engineering from the School of Mines in Ouro Preto, Brazil, and a master's degree in Management from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
Novelis is currently investing $300M to expand its plant in Pindamonhangaba, Brazil.
The expansion, expected to come on stream in late 2012, will increase the plant's capacity by more than 50% to more than 600kt/y of aluminium sheet, making it the largest aluminium rolling mill in South America