MBRF, the newly formed food giant from the merger of pork and poultry processor BRF and beef producer Marfrig, has appointed Miguel Gularte as its global chief executive officer, the company disclosed on Monday.
The combined entity is one of the biggest food producers in the world with around 160 billion reais ($30 billion) in revenue.
Gularte will report to MBRF Chairman Marcos Molina, founder of Marfrig, who had entrusted the executive to conduct BRF's turnaround when he took majority control of the pork and poultry processor in 2022.
Gularte had been CEO of Marfrig before being appointed to lead BRF.
In an interview to comment on the new organizational structure, Gularte said the company will generate "synergies" of 1 billion reais per year, up from 800 million reais calculated when the merger was announced in May.
Both Molina and Gularte confirmed plans to eventually list MBRF shares on the New York Stock Exchange, as rival JBS <JBS.N> did this year, without giving a timeline.
"This (the listing) is a natural step following the merger, which we will be ready to undertake. But it will depend on whether it will bring benefits to shareholders, for example, a higher multiple," Molina said.
Gularte said the company is focused on delivering the promised synergies before it can advance the listing plan. MBRF's shares will start trading on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
Under the new structure, the company cut to eight from 12 the number of vice-presidencies.
Jose Rey will be CFO and investor relations officer, for example. Fabio Mariano will take over as vice president for the Halal market, having been BRF's CFO previously. He will be based in the Middle East.
The combined company exports products to 120 countries, is the world's largest hamburger producer and has plants in Brazil, the United States and China.
