Mexico City — Fomento Económico Mexicano (FEMSA), a Mexican retail and Coca-Cola bottling conglomerate, has announced the appointment of Juan Carlos Guillermety as its new head of its digital business, one of the company’s three main pillars as it undergoes a strategic review of its businesses.
Guillermety will replace José Antonio Fernández Garza-Lagüera, who will assume leadership of FEMSA’s retail business, another of the company’s strategic pillars, which includes the ubiquitous Oxxo convenience stores, and its gas and drugstore businesses, and which is present in the Americas and Europe.
The appointments were approved by the board of directors, chaired by José Antonio Fernández Carbajal, and will take effect from November 1.
From Nubank to Femsa
Juan Carlos Guillermety joins the Mexican giant from Nubank, where he has been working for more than four years. In April, he assumed the vice presidency of Nu+, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Before joining the Brazilian digital bank, Guillermety was director of product and innovation for Mexico at Visa.
The move comes amid FEMSA’s digital business momentum, which considers the Spin digital financial product; and the growth of Nubank in Mexico, which by the end of 2022 became the fifth-largest credit-card issuer in the country.
FEMSA’s digital proposition is one of the pillars of its business strategy, following a strategic review. Spending focused on this segment is focused on increasing its user base and creating a monetizable product.
The company seeks to create an ecosystem that integrates the Spin fintech, the rewards program and a B2B business. The company’s plans include providing remittance services and offering credit to businesses it serves through Coca-Cola Femsa, its beverage bottling and distribution business.
In early April, FEMSA finalized the purchase of payment aggregator Netpay, a company that offers payment services and solutions for micro, small and medium-sized companies.
Coca-Cola FEMSA: unchanged
The company stated that it will not make any management changes in its Coca-Cola FEMSA bottling business, its third pillar, which will continue to be headed by Ian Craig.
The company made no reference to the appointment of a new general manager or CEO, after Fernández Carbajal assumed that position on an interim basis in July, following the departure of Chilean Daniel Alberto Rodríguez Cofré for health reasons.
