Wesley Batista is returning to head up meat giant JBS as group CEO, restoring leadership under the controlling family shareholders.
Wesley Batista Filho – his full name as the son of founder José Batista Sobrinho – will become CEO in January, while current chief Gilberto Tomazoni will step down to become vice chairman of the Brazil-headquartered group’s board.
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Tomazoni, a veteran of JBS who has been global CEO for the past eight years, will also take on the role of “senior adviser” once the transition takes place.
Wesley Batista, who along with his brother Joesley control the Batista family’s holding company, J&F Investimentos, will shift from his current role as CEO of the meatpacker’s US unit, JBS USA.
JBS, which in turn is majority owned by J&F Investimentos, said in a statement that the leadership change “reflects the company’s commitment to thoughtful succession planning”.
No other reasons for the transition were provided as JBS also reported a second-quarter loss of $102m alongside the announcement, although sales rose 14% to $23.9bn. Elsewhere, EBITDA, operating income and EPS all fell.
“I’m honoured to take on this responsibility and build on the extraordinary work accomplished by Tomazoni during his tenure as CEO,” Wesley Batista said of his new appointment.
“Having worked alongside him for more than a decade, Tomazoni and I have built a great working relationship and a shared vision – grounded in the company’s values.”
The incoming CEO added: “Our priorities remain clear: supporting our team members, serving our customers and producer partners, operating with excellence and creating long-term value for our shareholders.”
Wesley Batista has headed up JBS’s North American business since 2023. He entered the company in 2011 and has held various roles across the group business, including president of the Canada division and CEO of the Brazil unit.
He has also previously served as CEO of Seara, a brand and a subsidiary of the group. Seara manufactures convenience meat products and plant-based alternatives.
Wesley Batista has had a chequered past at JBS. In 2017, he and his brother Joesley – who was once group chairman – were charged for insider trading and for using inside information to profit from buying dollars in the foreign-exchange market with the proceeds from share sales.
Although not acknowledged in the leadership transition statement, Wesley was global CEO at JBS until being suspended from the role by court order in 2016 amid ongoing investigations into the insider-trading allegations.
Wesley Batista had been appointed group CEO in 2011 to replace his brother, who then became chairman.
When the investigations emerged, Wesley was replaced by his father and founder Batista Sobrinho in 2017. Tomazoni then took on the group CEO role the following year.
Tomazoni joined JBS in 2013 as the global president of the company’s poultry business and has also served as president of Seara.
The outgoing CEO also sits on the JBS board and also was on the board of Pilgrim’s Pride – the US-based meat processor majority-owned by JBS – for 13 years.
“Wesley has a track record of success at JBS and knows our business deeply,” Tomazoni said.
“I’m confident he is the right leader to guide JBS through its next chapter. He understands our business, our culture and our people, and I believe he will continue building on our strong foundation while leading the company to new opportunities for growth and value creation.”
JBS’s second-quarter financial results revealed some pressures for the business.
Adjusted EBITDA dropped 18% on an IFRS basis to $1.43bn. In GAPP terms, the metric was down 8% at $1.26bn.
Adjusted operating income (IFRS) declined 34% to $790m and decreased 16% to $866m measured by GAAP.
JBS delivered an EPS loss of $0.10, compared to a profit of $0.48 a year earlier. Adjusted EPS more than halved to $0.20 from $0.52.
Its shares on the New York Stock Exchange closed down 5.76% at $13.41 yesterday (10 August) when the announcements were made.
