Kotschwar’s Experience in Corporate Compliance and as Legal Counsel to U.S. Congressional Committees to Bolster Ethics and Compliance Function

GREELEY, Colo., April 24, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- JBS USA, the worldwide leader in meat and poultry-based food solutions and a majority shareholder in Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC), today named Lance Kotschwar head of ethics and compliance for the company’s operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. He will join the JBS USA leadership team, reporting directly to JBS USA President and CEO, Andre Nogueira.

Kotschwar will oversee the company’s global compliance policies and programs, including the code of conduct, whistleblower hotline, global anti-corruption policies, antitrust and competition law, trade compliance and conflict of interest policies, ensuring that JBS USA and Pilgrim’s operations around the world implement and maintain the highest ethical standards. An experienced regulatory and compliance professional, he spent nearly a decade in the agriculture industry implementing and managing compliance programs and regulatory issues, on top of his nearly two decades of Federal legislative and regulatory experience with USDA and both bodies of Congress.

“The appointment of Lance to lead our ethics and compliance efforts reinforces our long-standing commitment to conduct our business in an ethical, responsible manner,” Nogueira said. “Lance is an expert in agricultural regulatory policy and compliance and has extensive experience with the laws that govern the rules of conduct for our business today. We are honored to add a professional of his caliber to our leadership team.”

Immediately prior to joining JBS USA and Pilgrim’s, Kotschwar served as the chief ethics and compliance officer and vice president for government and industry affairs at The Gavilon Group, LLC, a leading commodity management firm.

In his new role, Kotschwar will work closely with the JBS USA Independent Advisory Board, which supports the executive leadership on matters related to corporate governance, government and regulatory affairs, commodity risk management and marketing.

“The members of the Advisory Board are pleased with the appointment of Lance Kotschwar as head of ethics and compliance,” said Harvey Pitt, CEO of Kalorama Partners, LLC, former Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and member of the JBS USA Independent Advisory Board. “We look forward to working closely with Lance to strengthen ethics and compliance efforts, improve investor confidence and position the company for future opportunities. I commend the leadership shown by JBS USA and Pilgrim’s in this appointment.”

During his time in Washington D.C., Kotschwar served as General Counsel for the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee; Chief Counsel for the U.S. House Agriculture Committee; General Counsel for the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee; and Staff Attorney for the USDA Office of General Counsel. He played an instrumental role in several significant pieces of legislation affecting the food and agriculture industries, including the 1996 and 2002 Farm Bills, the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act, the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000, and the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act.

A member of the Nebraska and District of Columbia bar associations, Kotschwar earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Nebraska—Lincoln.

ABOUT JBS USA
JBS USA is a leading processor of beef, pork and prepared foods products in the U.S., beef in Canada and beef, pork, lamb and prepared foods products in Australia. JBS USA processes, prepares, packages and delivers fresh, further-processed and value-added beef, pork and lamb products for sale to customers in more than 100 countries on six continents. JBS USA is also a majority shareholder of Pilgrim's Pride Corporation, the largest poultry company in North America and owner of Moy Park, a leading poultry and prepared foods company in Europe. For more information, visit www.jbssa.com.

ABOUT PILGRIM’S PRIDE

Pilgrim’s employs approximately 51,300 people and operates chicken processing plants and prepared-foods facilities in 14 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, the U.K, and continental Europe.  The Company’s primary distribution is through retailers and foodservice distributors.  For more information, please visit www.pilgrims.com.

ABOUT THE JBS USA INDEPENDENT ADVISORY BOARD
The JBS USA Independent Advisory Board is comprised of four respected, independent leaders, including: John Boehner, former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives; Gregory Heckman, former President and CEO at The Gavilon Group; Dimitri Panayotopoulos, former Vice Chairman at Procter & Gamble; and Harvey Pitt, former Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Advisory Board provides ongoing counsel to the JBS USA CEO and executive leadership teams in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.

Contact:
Cameron Bruett, JBS USA Corporate Affairs
970-506-7801
Cameron.bruett@jbssa.com