Fomento Económico Mexicano, better known as FEMSA, a Mexican conglomerate dedicated to commerce and bottling, announced through a statement the appointment of Juan Carlos Guillermety as the new head of its digital division. This area is one of the company’s three main strategic focuses, which is currently undergoing a thorough review of its operations.
Juan Carlos Guillermety will take over from José Antonio Fernández Garza-Lagüera, who will assume the leadership of the retail division of FEMSA, another strategic pillar that includes convenience stores Oxxo, the gas station business, and pharmacies present in America and Europe.
These appointments were approved by the Board of Directors, presided over by José Antonio Fernández Carbajal, and will take effect on November 1.
Guillermety comes from Nubank (NU), where he has collaborated for over four years and in April was appointed NU+’s Vice President, according to his profile on LinkedIn. Before his time at the Brazilian bank, Guillermety worked at Visa as Director of Product and Innovation for Mexico.
This change comes at a time of expansion for FEMSA’s digital business, which includes the digital financial product Spin, and during a period of growth for Nubank in Mexico, becoming the fifth credit card issuer in the country by the end of 2022.
The digital focus is a key pillar of FEMSA’s business after a strategic evaluation. Resources allocated to this area aim to increase the user base and develop a product that can generate revenue.
The company seeks to establish an ecosystem integrating the fintech Spin, a rewards program, and a business-to-business (B2B) division. Their plans include providing remittance services and offering credits to businesses served through Coca-Cola FEMSA, its bottling and beverage distribution division.
In April, FEMSA completed the acquisition of the payment aggregator Netpay, a company that provides payment services and solutions for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The company confirmed that there will be no changes in the leadership of its bottling division, Coca-Cola FEMSA, which will continue under the direction of Ian Craig.
There was no mention of the appointment of a new CEO after Fernández Carbajal assumed this position on an interim basis in July, following the departure for health reasons of Chilean Daniel Alberto Rodríguez Cofré.
