JBS elects new chairman of the board of directors.

Reuters - On Friday, the food company JBS elected executive Jeremiah O'Callaghan as chairman of the board of directors, replacing Tarek Farahat, who will become a global advisor to the company, responsible for governance and international development of the group. 

JBS also stated that executives Cledorvino Belini and Roberto Penteado Ticoulat were elected to the board, nominated by BNDESPar. In addition to them, the board will now also include Wesley Batista Filho, son of the former JBS CEO, Wesley Batista, who was arrested in a Federal Police operation.

The changes come after a strong campaign by BNDES (Brazilian Development Bank) for the Batista family to step down from the day-to-day management of JBS, following the scandal caused by the plea bargains of Wesley, Joesley Batista, and other executives of J&F, the holding company that controls JBS.

In mid-September, JBS warned that it could sue BNDES after statements by the bank's president, Paulo Rabello de Castro, criticizing the way the company elected José Batista Sobrinho, father of Wesley Batista and founder of the group, as its CEO.

BNDES, through BNDESPar, holds 21,3 percent of JBS, being the largest shareholder outside the controlling group, the Batista family itself.

Callaghan, who was born in Ireland, has been with JBS since 1996 and has been the company's director of investor relations for the past ten years.

Belini, who will join the board, was president of Fiat in Brazil and Latin America for 11 years, until 2015.

Ticoulat is a specialist in foreign trade and participates on the boards of associations such as the Brazilian Council of Importing and Exporting Companies (CECIEx) and the São Paulo Commercial Association (ACSP).

In addition to Farahat, Norberto Fatio, who was an independent director of JBS, also resigned from his position on the board.