Cork native Jerry O’Callaghan has been appointed as chairman of JBS, the world’s largest meat processing company based in Brazil.

O’Callaghan has worked with JBS for over 20 years, having first joined the Brazilian company in 1996.

Prior to this appointment, O’Callaghan served as head of investor relations with JBS and has also held roles in the company’s international business division.

O’Callaghan first left Ireland for Brazil in 1979, where he soon found himself working for a number of different companies in Brazil’s beef industry.

He eventually joined JBS in the mid-1990s when the company was still a relatively small player in the Brazilian meat industry.

Owned by the Batista family, JBS went through a rapid phase of expansion in the early 2000s thanks to an aggressive acquisition strategy. The company eventually floated on the Brazilian stock exchange in 2007 but the Batista family remained the controlling shareholder.

Acquisition trail

During this period, JBS snapped up rival beef, pork and chicken processors in Brazil and abroad to become the world’s largest meat company.

However, a recent political scandal in Brazil has shown that members of the Batista family had paid hundreds of millions in bribes to politicians and other officials to facilitate this acquisition growth.

A number of executives at JBS, including brothers Wesley and Joesley Batista, have stepped down from executive roles in the company as Brazilian prosecutors continue their investigation into the corruption scandal.

O'Callaghan investigated

Last week, it emerged that O’Callaghan himself was also being investigated by the Brazilian securities regulator CVM.

Regulators have accused O’Callaghan of violating his duty as head of investor relations with JBS by failing to properly question senior management and controlling shareholders in the company about the corruption scandal.

The accusations specifically refer to a plea bargain signed by the Batista brothers in which they admitted paying €165m in bribes to politicians.

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