Women in the lead: largest retailer in the country has a committee with a record female presence

The recent acquisition of Grupo BIG by Grupo Carrefour Brasil goes beyond a milestone for Brazilian retail and reaches the theme of gender diversity. In the history of the company, this is the moment of greater presence of women simultaneously occupying leadership positions: in the current Executive Committee (Comex), they are four of the 12 chairs, a composition of 33% executive. Internal landmark and historical landmark of the sector, this Comex becomes a new reference in the feminine ascent to higher positions in corporate spaces.

The newly created committee brings together names from the two groups and from the market, with the majority of Brazilian professionals, where they add knowledge and vast experience, forming a plural team. A recent survey, carried out by Estadão through the websites of the companies that handle the largest financial volumes on the Ibovespa, points out that, of the 87 on this list, less than 4% have women in command positions. In this way, Grupo Carrefour Brasil’s leadership committee makes history – and although there is still a long way to go, each achievement is a step taken in search of equity.

“It is an honor to be part of this Carrefour Brasil Group that is being born. More than that, it is an immense satisfaction to be the materialization of an attribute that is even more present in this new company: diversity. A commitment that begins with Comex itself, now renewed in more than 50% of its original formation. And, what’s more, it brings in its new composition four women. Having the opportunity to be the protagonists of change, to be the protagonists of ‘the new’, together with another 150 thousand people, is a wonderful gift”, says Catia Porto, Vice President of Human Resources at Grupo Carrefour Brasil, who came from BIG.

For the company’s president, Stephane Maquaire, the new Comex materializes the decision to make a “true integration, not just an acquisition”. “This is a historic moment for us, who have always believed in the integration with the BIG Group as an opportunity to strengthen our presence and diversify our products and services in Brazil. The teams were involved in a great effort to prepare for this integration to be successful,” he says.

INVESTMENTS

With the value of the acquisition of the BIG Group, the Carrefour Brasil Group has added R$ 15 billion in total investment in the company since 2019, one of the largest executed by the Brazilian retail industry in the period. The contribution directly contributes to Brazilian social and economic development. And the purchase – already approved by the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) – also represents the geographic expansion of Grupo Carrefour Brasil in national territory and regions where the company, until then, had a limited presence, such as the Northeast and South of the country, will receive new Shops.

With this complementarity, the new retail giant can expand its traditional formats, especially wholesale and hypermarkets, in addition to reinforcing its presence in formats that are still limited for the company, such as supermarkets (there are 99 new stores with Bompreço and Nacional brands) and soft discount (97 stores are Every Day). In addition, through a licensing agreement with Walmart Inc., it will operate in a new market segment with the Sam’s Club format. Grupo Carrefour Brasil will see its 45 million customers receive an addition of 15 million new consumers from this business.

NEW CARREFOUR BRAZIL GROUP

The expansion of business also means a better presence in the country. One of the points of attention is to expand diversity to the entire operation. “We have strengthened and expanded our commitment at all levels of our company. We know that there is still a long way to go, but we are proud to be among the first places in the retail market in terms of the percentage of women in senior management”, highlights Catia Porto.

The new structure will also have two chairs transversal to the entire company, Digital and Transformation, which will bring more agility and simplicity to internal processes, being responsible for monitoring strategic projects. The Chief Digital Officer chair is now monitored as one of the front lines of the business. In recent times, the Group has invested and increased its capacity for innovation, always with a focus on providing the best experience for the consumer.

According to the company, it is in the pipeline to support all this integration with a robust digital acceleration strategy, so that consumer experiences, whether in food retail, financial services, real estate, pharmaceuticals or even a Carrefour gas station, are connected and work. as means of communication between the Group and its customers, in addition to contributing to the internal integration process, with systems and interaction channels.

With the expansion of the network, Grupo Carrefour Brasil gains scale, which also generates efficiencies in this scenario, given that the costs of digital solutions do not scale linearly with the size of the network. The combination of the best of the BIG Group with the best of the Carrefour Brasil Group will accelerate this strategic objective.

WHO ARE THEY?

Meet the women who make up the new Executive Committee of Grupo Carrefour Brasil:

Ana Hieaux: Legal and Compliance Executive Director, chair that encompasses legal, compliance, internal controls, licensing and internal audit. The executive has more than 20 years of professional experience, having worked as a lawyer for almost 15 years in renowned law firms and held the position of Global Legal Director at a Brazilian multinational in the animal protein segment, from 2015 to 2018. Ana occupied the chair of Legal Director at Grupo Carrefour Brasil since 2018.

Catia Porto: Vice President of Human Resources at Grupo Carrefour Brasil, he has 25 years of experience in the Human Resources area. He worked for 8 years at Nokia do Brasil, locally, regionally and globally. He also assumed the Vice President of Human Resources and Latam at UnitedHealth Group in 2016, where he served on the executive board. Between the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2022, Catia was in charge of the Vice-Presidency of Human Resources at the BIG Group.

Liliane Dutra: CEO of Carrefour Property, the real estate and assets area of ​​Grupo Carrefour Brasil, has over 20 years of experience in the Shopping Center sector. He brings expertise in management, real estate development, redevelopments, expansions and revitalizations of projects. Liliane acted as executive leader in companies in the Real Estate segment, such as Multiplan, BRMalls, Brookfield and Ancar Ivanhoe Shopping Centers. Before taking up the chair at COMEX, she was Executive Director of Carrefour Property.

Maria Alicia Lima: Executive Director of Institutional Relations and Corporate Communication. With more than 25 years of experience in multinational companies, Maria Alicia has held the positions of Legal Vice President at Amil, General Counsel at UnitedHealth Global and Legal Director, Institutional Relations and Communication at Souza Cruz.

Source: ne10