LatinNews Daily - 11 August 2026

*Brazilian meatpacker JBS has announced that Wesley Batista Filho will be the company’s new CEO from January 2027. He will replace Gilberto Tomazoni, who has been JBS’ global CEO for the past eight years. Batista Filho, the son of former JBS CEO Wesley Batista and grandson of its founder José Batista Sobrinho, has held senior roles in various subsidiaries of J&F, the holding company of the billionaire Batista family, having worked as the head of JBS Brasil and of food processing company Seara. Since 2023, he has led JBS’ US business. The announcement of the new CEO appointment also came as JBS released its financial results for the second quarter of this year, which showed a net loss of US$102m, in contrast to the net profit of US$528m registered for Q2 2025. In its financial report published yesterday, the meatpacking giant highlighted various non-recurring items that contributed to its net loss in Q2 2026, including US$172m paid in premiums and costs related to the sale of bonds, as well as US$133m in antitrust settlements.