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JBS names Wesley Batista Filho as incoming global CEO
Company says U.S. division leader will succeed Gilberto Tomazoni in January
Jose Batista Sobrinho and Wesley Batista Filho. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg)
Key Takeaways:
- JBS NV said Wesley Batista Filho will become global CEO in January, returning a Batista family member to the top role after about eight years.
- The leadership change matters because JBS is the world's largest meat supplier and is increasingly focused on the U.S. after listing shares there.
- Gilberto Tomazoni will remain vice chairman as Batista Filho takes over a company expanding through recent deals in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
The world’s largest meat supplier, JBS NV, will once again be led by a member of Brazil’s Batista family, a pivotal move for a global food powerhouse that is increasingly focused on the U.S.
Wesley Batista Filho will take over as global CEO in January after spending the past three years leading the company’s U.S. division, according to an Aug. 10 filing with regulators. He is the grandson of JBS founder Jose Batista Sobrinho and the son of former top executive Wesley Batista.
“It’s a natural transition, and we are carrying on the legacy,” Batista Filho said in an interview on Aug. 10 before JBS was scheduled to report second-quarter earnings.
The move returns a member of the Batista clan to the top spot for the first time in about eight years. The family has gained global prominence over the past two decades, transforming its Brazilian slaughterhouse business into an empire spanning meatpacking, energy, mining, finance and consumer goods.
Batista Filho will replace Gilberto Tomazoni, who in 2018 became JBS’ first CEO from outside the Batista bloodline after a corruption scandal ensnared the two most high-profile family members: billionaire brothers Wesley and Joesley Batista.
The transition was planned for years, said Tomazoni, who will remain with the company as vice chairman. JBS has not announced details about the future leadership of the U.S. operation.
Batista Filho is part of a younger generation that has taken on a more prominent role as the family grows its investments. In the U.S., he has led the division through a period of market turmoil as a slow rebuild of the American cattle herd kept supplies tight. He will now take over a company that is expanding globally, having recently made deals to grow operations in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Still, the U.S. business remains a key focus, with a recent listing of shares in the U.S. bringing the company closer to New York investors.
JBS USA Holdings ranks No. 86 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest private carriers in North America.
