MONTERREY, Mexico — Fomento Económico Mexicano (FEMSA) announced a leadership succession plan that will see Jose Antonio Fernández Garza-Lagüera, currently chief executive officer of FEMSA Proximidad & Salud, assume the role of CEO of FEMSA effective November 1, 2025.
Jose Antonio Fernández Carbajal, FEMSA’s executive chairman and interim CEO since July 2023, will continue in his role as executive chairman. The Board expressed gratitude to him for serving in both capacities during the transition.
FEMSA is one of Latin America’s largest and most diversified companies, with operations spanning retail, health, beverages, and digital services. Headquartered in Monterrey, Mexico, FEMSA operates through several business units, including its Americas Proximity Division, which manages OXXO convenience stores and other formats; Proximity Europe, which includes Valora’s retail network across Europe; and the Health Division, which runs thousands of pharmacies across Latin America. Through Spin by OXXO and other initiatives, FEMSA is also expanding into digital financial services.
In the beverage industry, FEMSA owns Coca-Cola FEMSA, the largest franchise bottler of Coca-Cola products globally by sales volume. Together, FEMSA’s businesses employ more than 390,000 people in 18 countries, serving millions of consumers daily.
The appointment follows a succession process launched in mid-2024 by the Board’s Corporate Practices and Nominating Committee, which later created a special committee chaired by Ricardo Saldívar Escajadillo. Supported by international advisors, the committee evaluated candidates and recommended Garza-Lagüera, a decision approved by FEMSA’s Board.
Garza-Lagüera has held leadership roles across FEMSA’s business units since joining the company in 2011. His career spans positions at Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma, Heineken, OXXO, FEMSA Comercio, Coca-Cola FEMSA Central America, FEMSA Spin, and, most recently, FEMSA Proximidad & Salud, where he oversees more than 180,000 employees, 28,000 convenience stores, 4,300 pharmacies, and 550 fuel stations across the Americas and Europe. He holds a degree in industrial engineering from Tecnológico de Monterrey and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
“With his strategic focus and assertive, results-oriented leadership style, Jose Antonio will guide FEMSA into a new era of economic and social value creation, with a strong drive for growth, innovation, and sustainability, and with a continued focus on the development of FEMSA's employees, their families, and the communities where the Company operates,” the announcement says.
