About Us

The group has a consistent 70-year track record of value creation and growth. The holding company controls: JBS – the world’s largest food producer, Eldorado Brasil – one of the world’s most cutting-edge and sustainable pulp manufacturers, Âmbar Energia, Flora Higiene e Cosméticos, Canal Rural, J&F Mineração, Banco Original – an exclusive bank that tailors to the corporate, wholesale markets and the agro industry sector, and PicPay – a financial ecosystem that holds 33 million active customers.
In addition, the group maintains the J&F Institute, a Business Education Center whose primary purpose is to transform companies into educational institutions. Currently, it has 900 elementary and high school students who are enrolled in technical training programs in the Business Administration field.

Mission and Values

Mission

To be the best in what we set out to do, with absolute focus on our activities, ensuring that we offer the best products and services to our customers, consistency to our suppliers, profitability to our shareholders and the opportunity to access a better future for all our employees.

Our Values

Owner’s Attitude

Committed to the result, he knows in depth what he does and has a vision of the whole. He acts with obstinacy, discipline and focus on detail. He is hands-on, always seeks to be the best at what he does and never gives up.
He is always available and leads by example. He is indignant, does not conform, does not keep quiet or omit himself when he sees something that does not work well or can be improved. It is attentive to spending and saving every penny. Is engaged with the culture of the organization.

Frankness

They are direct, sincere, truthful and transparent in their relationships, always with respect, in a positive, aggregating and welcoming way. He does not omit himself, he expresses his opinions even when contrary to others. He knows how to say no.

Availability

He is responsive, accessible, available, has no day and no time, is always ready and has work as a priority. He is open to the new, to change and motivated for new challenges.

Determination

He is strong-willed, delivers superior results, and fulfills his commitments. It makes things happen, looks for alternatives to problems and engages people towards a common goal. He has a sense of urgency, an attitude of ownership and never gives up.

Simplicity

It makes things happen in a simple and practical way, it is hands-on, it goes straight to the point, it simplifies and reduces bureaucracy while respecting the rules.

Humility

He knows how to listen, he is attentive, he considers the opinion of others, it doesn’t matter who did it, it matters what we did. He’s not ashamed to ask or say he doesn’t know. He is not arrogant or conceited and acts respectfully. He doesn’t care about status or think he owns the truth. It prioritizes the we and not the self.

Discipline

He fulfills the agreement, he is punctual with his schedule and his commitments. Performs his tasks in a disciplined manner. It is focused, pragmatic, optimizes time, activities and resources. It delivers results, it doesn’t create justifications and excuses.

Our Beliefs

Good attitude is more important than knowledge

Leaders must steer their team towards a common goal

Work with people that are better than us

It makes a difference to believe in our goals

Global Operations

Founder

FOUNDER

JOSÉ BATISTA SOBRINHO (Zé Mineiro)

José Batista Sobrinho is the founder of JBS and was born in Carmo do Rio Claro (State of Minas Gerais) in December 1933. Casa de Carnes Mineira was his first business endeavor which was launched in 1953 with his brother Juvensor Batista. It was the start of what later became JBS. Within the following years, they took their business to the future capital of Brazil, Brasília, seeking opportunities to expand their company. Juvensor traveled across farms of the region purchasing cattle, while Zé Mineiro focused on the abattoir activities while delivering between 4,000 and 5,000 kilos of boneless meat to cafeterias of local construction companies. Subsequently, the brothers acquired slaughterhouses and in Formosa (GO), set up the cold storage warehouses. In 1975, Casa de Carnes Mineira changed its name to Friboi. Only three years later, Zé Mineiro’s eldest son, José Batista Júnior, convinced his father to open a meat distribution company in Brasília which became a very successful initiative. Friboi also purchased other distributors in that region, expanding its operations in the Federal District as of 1980.

Later, Zé Mineiro made the decision to invest in diversification as a means to benefit from the synergies with the meat processing and cold storage businesses and thus purchased Cical. The company was soon rebranded Flora, as a tribute to his wife, and over the years the business expanded its product line and has now become the household and cleaning products division of J&F. José Batista Júnior took over management of the newly purchased factory and became president of Friboi, while Zé Mineiro managed the cattle farm, giving his son carte blanche to further develop the business.

He managed the company with great determination and courage, leading its expansion process. The slaughterhouse in Formosa (GO) was sold, and a larger plant was acquired in 1982, in Planaltina (Brasília). A year later, the company began to sell meat outside Brasília, supplying other markets such as that of Rio de Janeiro. During this decade, Wesley and Joesley joined their brother’s efforts to lead the Group’s growth and diversification process through the acquisition of meat processing and cold storage plants and multiple companies, in Brazil and abroad, up to the point when JBS became a global leader in the protein industry.

As a result of his unassuming personality, the patriarch likes to say that his children did not learn from him but on their own. The absolute trust he always placed in them was decisive for the company’s successful trajectory, having operations in 190 countries, with 200 business units. The values which Zé Mineiro embraced throughout his career define both his lifestyle and work method. Thus, they also established one of his main legacies: a very unique business culture, management style, way of doing business and interacting with people. These values are all about simplicity, being straightforward, humble, determined, having discipline, being available and embracing the owner’s attitude. A strong organizational culture portrays the company’s personality and identity, develops a sense of belonging and employee engagement, which attracts market attention and grants credibility to the company.

Shareholders

SHAREHOLDER

WESLEY MENDONÇA BATISTA

Wesley Mendonça Batista was born in Formosa (GO) in 1970. He is an entrepreneur and shareholder of JBS, the largest protein producer worldwide. Wesley is one of the key executives who took the lead in implementing the group’s globalization strategy.
Slightly before turning seventeen, Wesley began working as manager of the soap factory in Luziânia (GO), which his father had purchased earlier to make use of beef by- products. He replaced his older brother, José Batista Júnior, in his previous job position.
In the 90s, Wesley was appointed to manage the third meat processing and cold storage plant in Anápolis (GO), which had a 1,000-animal capacity per day and exported its products to various markets, placing Friboi in a whole new market territory.
Friboi experienced a massive expansion process as of 1996 and in 2005, Wesley took part in the purchase of Swift Argentina, the largest producer and exporter of beef in that country. This was the first step in the globalization process of Friboi, which two years later was rebranded JBS.
The crowning point of this business plan took place in 2007, with the purchase of Swift USA. Wesley led the company’s restructuring process and shortly after, transformed it into a sound and profitable company, which soon acquired a few of its American competitors. After wrapping up this business cycle, he returned to Brazil in 2011 and replaced Joesley Batista as President of JBS.

SHAREHOLDER

JOESLEY BATISTA

Joesley Mendonça Batista is an entrepreneur and shareholder of JBS, one of the largest food companies in the world. He was born in Formosa (State of Goiás – GO) in 1972. Within the Group, among other roles, he was responsible for market and government relations. Similar to the trajectory of his two older brothers – Júnior and Wesley –, Joesley began working for his father’s companies at early age.
In January 1989, when he was 16 years old, he worked for Flora and later took over the meat processing and cold storage plant in Luziânia (GO). Shortly after, he began to manage another group company in Planaltina (GO). Subsequently, Joesley returned to the soap factory as the leading executive replacing his brother Júnior. At that time, he also took over Friboi’s financial division, which was his first step towards later heading the fiscal, accounting and controlling group divisions, which would eventually provide the necessary qualifications for him to head J&F’s market and government relations.
Joesley continued to play a core role throughout the speedy growth process of Friboi and, later, of JBS and J&F, such as the purchase of Swift USA in 2005, a bold and unprecedented operation which became a milestone in the company’s globalization process. Joesley became President of JBS and designed the company’s strategic planning. His deep knowledge of the business was crucial for structuring an important transaction that changed the history of JBS: the 2007 IPO.
Furthermore, the entrepreneur is committed to a project in the field of education, the Instituto J&F where he is president. The institute’s school was created 14 years ago, where elementary and high school students learn business management, technology or veterinary science in the classroom and within group companies. According to Joesley, their goal is not “to train people to repeat what is done today, but to achieve what we dream of doing tomorrow”. All of the above was attainable because, from a very young age, Wesley followed the teachings of his father, the founder of the group: do things with simplicity, do not be afraid to learn and pay special attention to details.

José Batista Sobrinho inicia as operaçõe da JBS em uma pequena casa de carnes, em Anápolis, no estado de Goiás.

Historic

1953 | The Origin

Founded in a small butcher shop in Anápolis (GO) in 1953, the J&F group was
In these 70 years, it has become the largest employer in the country. The patriarch of the group, Joseph
Batista Sobrinho, toured farms with his brother buying and reselling cattle.

In a short time, Casa de Carnes Mineiras – and its owner, now known as Zé
Mineiro – became famous for the quality of its products and became the main
supplier of the city’s butcher shops.

60s-70s | Expansion and diversification

In the 1960s, slaughterhouses were established in Anápolis (GO) and Formosa (GO). In the following decade, the company diversified, leading the meat market in Brasilia. In 1980, a small rendering factory gave rise to Flora Higiene e Cosméticos, which grew rapidly until it tripled in size between 1978 and 1983.

80s-90s | The Second Generation

In the 1980s, the younger children joined the family business. In 1988, Zé Mineiro bought a slaughterhouse in Luziânia (GO), appointing Wesley, 18 years old, to manage the unit, while Joesley, only 16, took over as Minuano’s industrial manager. Junior was in charge of the soap business. The group continued its expansion, leasing a slaughterhouse in Anápolis (GO) in the early 1990s, a unit formerly owned by Bordon, which would be acquired by JBS in 2003.

2000s | Internationalization

With the incorporation of Bordon’s brands and assets, Friboi became the leader in the beef protein sector in Brazil. In 2005, internationalization began with the acquisition of Swift Armour in Argentina, followed by the purchase of six slaughterhouses in the neighboring country in the following two years.

In 2006, Friboi entered the international financial market with bond issuances, followed by the IPO in 2007, the largest ever recorded in Brazil at the time, adopting the name JBS.

In July 2007, JBS bought Swift Co., which had revenues five times as much, achieving profitability under Wesley’s leadership in less than a year. Protein diversification expanded with the acquisition of Pilgrim’s Pride in 2009, and on the same day, the incorporation of Bertin, consolidating JBS as the largest global producer of animal protein.

2010s | Accelerated diversification

The expansion continued in other sectors, such as Banco Matone, in 2011, which gave rise to Banco Original. The following year, Eldorado Brasil Celulose was inaugurated, an operation created from scratch by the J&F group and which in 2022 earned more than R$ 7 billion, with more than 40% net margin.

In 2013, JBS began to grow its poultry and pork production in Brazil with the acquisition of Seara.

Canal Rural was acquired in 2013. Âmbar Energia was created in 2015 and today has a power generation capacity of 1.9 gigawatts. Flora doubled in size with the acquisition of brands such as Ox, Neutrox, Karina, Kolene and Francis.

2020s | Looking to the future

In recent years, the group has continued to invest in the diversification of its operations, with special attention to technology and added value in all businesses.

Picpay, a startup acquired by the group, received investments that led it to become the largest payment app in the country and, later, a complete financial ecosystem. Today, the company has over 35 million active users.

In 2021, JBS acquired Europe’s third-largest plant-based protein company, Vivera, and entered aquaculture through the acquisition of Australia’s Huon. In 2022, it acquired the Spanish company Biotech and announced the creation of a research center in Santa Catarina, both focused on the development of cultured meat.

The last major diversification move was the creation of J&F Mineração, in 2021, from the acquisition of Vale’s iron ore and manganese assets in Mato Grosso do Sul.

Looking to the future, the group invests in the J&F Institute, a business education center that works to transform businesses into educational enterprises.