JBS USA, announced this week the formation of an independent advisory board to support the company’s executive leadership on matters related to corporate governance, government and regulatory affairs, commodity risk management and marketing.
The Advisory Board will be comprised of four respected, independent leaders, including:
- John Boehner, Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives
- Greg Heckman, Former President and CEO, The Gavilon Group
- Dimitri Panayotopoulos, Former Vice Chairman, Procter & Gamble
- Harvey Pitt, Former Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
“We are honored that such a high caliber group of leaders has agreed to serve as inaugural members of the JBS USA Advisory Board,” said Andre Nogueira, JBS USA Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to the contributions of the advisory board members in advancing our plans for success and growth, while preserving our unwavering commitment to governance, quality and outstanding customer service.”
The Advisory Board will meet quarterly, in addition to providing ongoing counsel to the JBS USA CEO and executive leadership teams in North America, Australia and New Zealand.
JBS USA Advisory Board Members:
John Boehner: Speaker Boehner led the U.S. House of Representatives from January 2011 to October 2015, a time during which he navigated some of the most difficult legislative challenges of the modern era, and forged strong relationships with business and government leaders throughout the world.
A former businessman who entered public service because of his desire to remove barriers to economic growth and private-sector job creation, Speaker Boehner is respected on both sides of the political aisle for his efforts to find common ground on major policy matters without compromising on principle, and for his belief that individuals of competing viewpoints can “disagree, without being disagreeable” to each other.
Speaker Boehner has served as a strategic advisor at Squire Patton Boggs, a public affairs firm, since 2016. Additionally, he sits on the Board of Directors of Arizona Mining Inc. and Reynolds American Inc.
Greg Heckman: Greg Heckman has more than 30 years of experience in the agriculture, energy and food processing industries. Most recently, Greg was CEO of The Gavilon Group, LLC. During his time at Gavilon, Greg led the company through a period of considerable growth in both the agriculture and energy industries, prior to the eventual sale of the agriculture business to Marubeni Corporation and the energy business to NGL Energy Partners. He set the vision and direction for the company, and was also the key leader in the formation of Gavilon and the spinoff of ConAgra Trade Group from ConAgra Foods in 2008.
Prior to Gavilon, Greg was Chief Operating Officer of ConAgra Foods Commercial Products and President and COO of ConAgra Trade Group. During his 24-year career at ConAgra Foods, he ascended quickly through the organization, led the turnaround of several operating divisions and drove many key strategies, including the formation of ConAgra Trade Group (the predecessor to Gavilon) in 1998.
Greg holds a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture economics and marketing from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Greg is a member of the Board of Directors of OCI NV, a global producer of fertilizer and chemicals.
Dimitri Panayotopoulos: Dimitri has extensive general management, international sales and brand building expertise. He spent more than 37 years working for consumer goods company Procter & Gamble. He began his career in 1977 in the U.K. in sales and went on to become Vice Chairman and Advisor to the Chairman and CEO, before he retired from Procter & Gamble in January 2014.
Having worked in many markets across the globe, Dimitri was responsible for leading a number of innovations. While Vice Chairman of all Global Business Units, he continued to focus on business innovation, speed to market and scale across all of the Procter & Gamble businesses.
Dimitri was appointed to the Board of British American Tobacco p.l.c. as a Non-Executive Director in February 2015. He is Chairman of the Remuneration Committee and a member of the Nominations Committee. Dimitri is also a Senior Advisor at the Boston Consulting Group, the global management consulting firm – a position he has held since April 2014 – and is a Board member of Logitech International S.A.
Harvey Pitt: Harvey Pitt is Chief Executive Officer of the global business consulting firm, Kalorama Partners, LLC, and its law firm affiliate, Kalorama Legal Services, PLLC.
Previously, he served as the 26th Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. From 2001 until 2003, Mr. Pitt was responsible for overseeing the SEC’s response to the market disruptions resulting from the terrorist attacks of 9/11. He also created the SEC’s “real time enforcement” program and led the Commission’s adoption of dozens of rules in response to the corporate and accounting crises generated during the 1990s.
For nearly a quarter of a century before becoming the SEC’s Chairman, Mr. Pitt was a senior corporate partner at the international law firm, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson. Previously, Mr. Pitt served with the SEC, from 1968 until 1978, including three years as the Commission’s General Counsel (1975-78).
Mr. Pitt also previously served as a Director of GWU Medical Faculty Associates, Inc., and as a member of the Global Advisory Forum of the CQS Hedge Fund. He is currently a member of the Regulatory and Compliance Advisory Council of Millennium Management LLC, and serves as both an advisor and director to certain funds of Paulson & Co., and its affiliates.
