SÃO PAULO –JBS S.A. announced a transition strategy on July 22 that will move Wesley Batista Filho into the company’s global president of operations. 

Batista Filho began his career at JBS in 2010 and held several roles, including president of JBS Canada, president of the JBS USA Fed Beef Division, CEO of Seara, CEO of JBS Latin America and most recently president of operations – Latin America, Oceania and the Global Plant-based Business.

In his new role, he will continue to report to Gilberto Tomazoni, global chief executive officer of JBS. 

Tim Schellpeper, CEO of JBS USA, Brent Eastwood, CEO of JBS Australia, and Gilberto Xando, CEO of JBS Brazil will report to Batista Filho.

“After working alongside Wesley for more than a decade, I have full confidence in his ability to serve our global team in this increased capacity,” said Tomazoni. “Our leadership team will continue building on our well-established sustainable growth strategy and creating unprecedented opportunity for our team members, customers and stakeholders, as we work together to create a more sustainable future.”

During this announcement, JBS also confirmed that Andre Nogueira, its current president of operations in North America, will retire from his role starting on Nov. 1. He plans to serve the company in an advisory role through the end of 2022 and then join the JBS USA advisory board while maintaining a role on the Pilgrim’s Pride Board of Directors.

“I want to sincerely thank Andre for his longstanding commitment to JBS USA, excellent work and steadfast leadership during his tenure,” Tomazoni said. “It is Andre’s dedication to living our culture and upholding our values that has led to such tremendous growth and success for our company.”

 Nogueira joined JBS USA in 2007, first serving as chief financial officer of JBS USA before becoming CEO of JBS Australia and then CEO of JBS USA, a role he held for nine years. 

While at JBS USA, the company said it doubled annual sales revenue and expanded its operations footprint with growth and numerous acquisitions worldwide while adding 40,000 jobs in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

“Being part of the fantastic team at JBS USA for the past 15 years has been the highlight of my career, and I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to serve our team members and customers who provide food for families around the world every day,” said Nogueira. “We are investing in our team members, the regions where we operate and the sustainability of our planet like never before, and the future is very bright for the company and its stakeholders.”

Nogueira also worked in growing the prepared foods, branded and value-added products while accelerating sustainability efforts. He also worked on efforts made in company infrastructure, which included affordable housing projects and providing free community college tuition in the US and Canadian markets.