JBS
Batista brothers resign from board, Tarek Farahat is elected chairman.
 
SÃO PAULO, Brazil – Just over one week after JBS SA announced seven executives of the company had agreed to a plea bargain with federal prosecutors, including a fine of R$225 million (US$67.93 million), and JBS Chairman Joesley Batista admitted in court documents that he made illegal payments to Brazil’s current and former presidents, the company announced on May 26 Joesley Batista had resigned as chairman of the board and his brother, Wesley Batista, had stepped down as vice chairman of the board.

Wesley Batista will continue in his role as CEO, while his position on the board will be filled by his father, José Batista Sobrinho. Joesley Batista was replaced by Tarek Farahat, who has served on the company’s board since 2013 and has been the company’s Global President of Marketing and Innovation since 2015. Farahat formerly worked in several leadership roles with Procter & Gamble Co. for the past 26 years.

In a statement, JBS announced the creation of a governance committee, which Farahat will lead with the goal of implementing global best practices in corporate governance and compliance and rebuilding the trust of the company’s stakeholders.   

“Governance is my utmost priority,” said Farahat. “We will work hard to restore trust with the market and protect the more than 235,000 families that are part of JBS. There is a significant amount of work to be done in order to regain the trust of our stakeholders.”