Board of Directors

Mr. Borges joined us in 1997 as administrative assistant. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He served as our marketing advisor, sales manager, chief wholesale commercial officer, chief retail commercial officer and chief wholesale and retail commercial officer. Four years ago, he became the vice-chairman of our group. He holds equity interest in Posterus Supermercados LTDA. (Camiño).

Mr. Ilson is our chief executive officer and controlling shareholder. He founded Grupo Mateus in 1986, in the city of Balsas, state of Maranhão. Mr. Ilson completed his primary education and started to work at 12 years of age, as an apprentice. He later became a turner. He worked in gold digging in the 1980s and, with the little money he earned, he invested, persisted and built the largest retail food chain in Brazil with a capital stock that is entirely held by Brazilian shareholders. Mr. Ilson is also a shareholder of Armazém Mateus S.A., Mateus Supermercados, Indústria de Pães e Massas Mateus LTDA. and Rio Balsas Participações e Empreendimentos LTDA.

Mr. Ilson Mateus Júnior holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and an MBA in management from Fundação Dom Cabral. He attended the Program for Management Development at IESE Barcelona. He is the controlling shareholder and chief executive officer of Black Swan, the largest innovation center in the North and Northeast regions in Brazil, and he is the co-founder of Niduu, an app focused on corporate training through gamification.

Mrs. Saboya holds a degree in Economics from PUC-RJ and has a solid career as a business analyst, portfolio manager and board member. She is a pioneer in the development of corporate governance in Brazil. With over 30 years of experience working in capital markets, she has been the protagonist of most of the ESG codes and rules in Brazil. Partner at Jardim Botânico Investimentos (JBI) – Jul/09 to Feb/15. Partner and member of the JBI investment team. First Brazilian portfolio manager to restrict investments in state-owned companies. She created a corporate governance filter to select the JBI analysis universe. Partner at Investidor Profissional – Sep/01 to Apr/09. First independent Brazilian asset manager fully dedicated to investing in Brazilian publicly traded companies. Responsible for managing PIPEs in 2004-09. Business Analyst at Banco Icatu – Aug/95 to Apr/99 Detailed financial analysis (BS, IS, FCF) of top Brazilian companies and their respective sectors. Experience in IPO and M&A. Responsible for mining, steel, petrochemical, pulp and paper, and electricity analysis. Corporate Sales Officer at Banco Icatu – Jun/93 to Aug/95. Private Banking business development. Mrs. Saboya declares that it is considered independent according to the criteria established in the Novo Mercado Regulation. She does not hold positions in other companies or organizations in the third sector.

Mr. Mello holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Faculdade Cândido Mendes, in Rio de Janeiro, and an MBA in management from the Western International University, in London. He has more than 30 years of experience in senior management positions in large companies and financial institutions, primarily in construction and management of large retail financial businesses, with an in-depth knowledge of the Brazilian and international markets. From 2007 to 2012, he served as chief executive officer of Banco Carrefour, responsible for the conversion of the former Carrefour private label into a bank with a broad portfolio of products and excellent results. Also in 2012, Mr. Mello founded K.I.Q. Assessoria Empresarial, serving as chief executive officer and conducting a number of strategic review projects for financial institutions, including the strategic review of Banco Topázio and the redesign of JSL’s pre-paid cards. From 2015 to 2018, he served as chief executive officer in the restructuring of Banco Topázio.