Former Pilgrim's Pride CEO appointed Chief of JBS US

Former Pilgrim's Pride CEO appointed Chief of JBS US

Former Pilgrim's Pride CEO appointed Chief of JBS US

Brazilian meat processor JBS SA shuffled its senior management to comply with securities regulations.

Wesley Batista will take over as chief executive of the firm from his brother, Joesley Batista, who will keep his position as chairman, JBS said Tuesday.

Wesley Batista has been at the company for 22 years, and was most recently head of the company's U.S. subsidiary. Don Jackson, the former head of Pilgrim's Pride Corp., which JBS acquired in 2009, was appointed chief executive of JBS USA.

The changes were designed to comply with stricter corporate-governance rules of the Novo Mercado, a section of Brazil's stock exchange, the BM&FBovespa. New rules bar companies from having the same person as chief executive and chairman. Companies have three years to make any necessary changes.

Thanks to an acquisition binge, JBS, based in São Paulo, has become one of the world's largest beef processors, surpassing Minnesota-based Cargill Inc. JBS owns Colorado's Swift & Co., Tasman Group of Australia and a majority stake in Italian meat packer Inalca SpA.

JBS bid against private-equity groups for control of Sara Lee Corp., but the U.S.-based food company instead chose to split into two publicly listed companies.

JBS's shares rose 1.6% Tuesday in Brazil but are down around 30% over the last 12 months amid concerns that the company has taken on too much debt in its acquisition binge.