JBS USA Announces Leadership Succession Plan

GREELEY, Colo., Sept. 12, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JBS USA, a leading animal protein processor in the U.S. and Australia and a wholly owned subsidiary of Brazil-based JBS S.A., today announced that, as a part of a scheduled succession plan, Don Jackson will retire as CEO effective year end 2012. Andre Nogueira, former JBS USA CFO and current CEO of JBS Australia, will become CEO of JBS USA effective Jan. 1, 2013.

Jackson will gradually transition his roles and responsibilities to Nogueira through the end of this year. Jackson will remain with the company in an advisory capacity and retain his seat on the board of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation.

Andre Nogueira, in his new role as JBS USA CEO, will have responsibility for all U.S. and Australia operations and will report directly to Wesley Batista, president and CEO of JBS global operations. Under this new structure, Bill Rupp, in addition to his current role as president and COO of the JBS USA beef business, will assume leadership of the Australia business and report to Nogueira.

"In my new capacity as CEO, I am excited to continue to work with our team to position JBS USA as the most efficient, preferred supplier for our customers," stated Nogueira. "Global consumption of animal protein has experienced tremendous growth over the last decade and JBS USA is well-positioned to meet increasing protein demand through its strategic global production and sales platforms. I look forward to working with all of our stakeholders to provide the highest quality beef, pork, poultry and lamb products."

Nogueira assumes the position of JBS USA CEO with over 25 years of leadership experience in corporate business in both the U.S. and Brazil. For the past five years, Nogueira has been a part of JBS, serving as JBS USA CFO for four years and as CEO of JBS Australia for the past year. His time at JBS has provided Nogueira with intimate knowledge of the U.S. and Australia operations and the JBS culture. In addition to his executive roles at JBS, Nogueira enjoyed more than 20 years of corporate financial banking experience, holding senior positions at Banco do Brasil in both the U.S. and Brazil. Nogueira earned a B.A. in economics from Federal Fluminese University, a Masters in economics from Brasilia University, and an MBA from Funcado Don Cabral.

Rupp joined JBS USA in 2010 as president and COO of the beef business unit. Prior to joining JBS, Rupp spent more than 20 years at Cargill where he held a variety of senior-level positions including vice president of beef operations and president of Cargill Beef.

Jackson was named president and CEO of JBS USA in 2010. Immediately prior to joining JBS USA, Jackson served as CEO for Pilgrim's Pride where he successfully guided the company through bankruptcy, ultimately negotiating the sale of controlling interest to JBS USA. Prior to his time at Pilgrim's, Jackson enjoyed a distinguished career with Central Soya, Seaboard, ConAgra, and Foster Farms.

About JBS USA

JBS USA, an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of JBS S.A., is a leading processor of beef, pork and lamb in the U.S. and a leading processor of beef in Australia. JBS USA processes, prepares, packages and delivers fresh, further-processed and value-added beef and pork products for sale to customers in more than 60 countries on five continents. JBS USA is also a majority shareholder of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation, the second largest poultry company in the U.S.

In the United States, Mexico and Puerto Rico, JBS USA and Pilgrim's Pride conducts their operations through 8 beef processing plants, 3 pork processing plants, 31 poultry processing plants, 31 poultry hatcheries, 1 lamb processing plant, 1 hide tannery, 31 distribution centers, and 12 feedlots operation by JBS Five Rivers Cattle Feeding. In Australia, the company operates 15 beef and small-animal processing plants, 7 feedlots, 1 hide tannery and 7 distribution centers.

About JBS S.A.

JBS S.A. is the global leader in meat production with 301 facilities worldwide and more than 135,000 employees. JBS S.A. processes beef, pork, lamb and poultry in addition to processing leather and other animal by-products. JBS S.A. processes, prepares, packages and delivers fresh, further-processed and value-added beef, pork, lamb and poultry products in more than 150 countries on five continents.

In South America, JBS S.A. conducts its operations through 108 beef processing, canning, distribution centers and other facilities, including 37 processing plants in Brazil, 5 processing plants in Argentina, 2 processing plants in Paraguay, 1 processing plant in Uruguay, and 11 distribution centers and 5 feedlots in Brazil.