Beauty queens from around the world are soon set to arrive in Thailand for the start of the Miss Universe pageant, which will take place from November 2 to 21. And in the days leading up, there’s been a major leadership shake-up behind the scenes.
On Wednesday, the organization announced that Anne Jakrajutatip was replaced as CEO.
Jakrajutatip made history as the first woman to own the 74-year-old pageant when her Thai-based company, JKN Global Group, purchased the organization from Endeavor for $20 million in October 2022.
She’s being replaced by Mario Búcaro, a former diplomat who most recently served as the Miss Universe Organization’s vice president for international relations.
Búcaro has previously worked as the ambassador of Guatemala to Israel, Mexico, Bulgaria, and Cyprus. He also served as Guatemala’s Minister of Foreign Affairs for two years before joining Miss Universe.
Jakrajutatip and the Miss Universe Organization didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
A new regime
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The organization said Búcaro will work alongside Raul Rocha, who will continue to serve as president, a title he has held since Jakrajutatip sold a 50% stake of Miss Universe to his company, Legacy Holding Group USA Inc., in January 2024.
Rocha didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Miss Universe said in its announcement that Búcaro helped the pageant expand “its presence to over 130 countries.” As the new CEO, he will continue to focus on global outreach and “enriching the candidate experience while upholding integrity and fairness.”
“The Board of the Miss Universe Organization expresses its full confidence in Mario Búcaro’s leadership to guide the organization into a new era of growth and global influence,” the organization added. “His vision of Miss Universe as a worldwide movement that celebrates authenticity, transformation, and empowerment will continue to unite cultures, expand opportunities for women, and elevate the values that define our brand.”
A troubled predecessor
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When Jakrajutatip took over Miss Universe in October 2022, it was heralded as a historic new era. She gave a rousing speech at her first Miss Universe in January 2023, telling fans that the pageant was “going to be run by women, owned by a trans woman, for all women around the world.”
Financial issues quickly followed.
In September 2023, Jakrajutatip’s company missed a payment on a multimillion-dollar loan. In a letter to the stock exchange president, the company said, “The financial liquidity management of the company is not in line with the expected forecast.” JKN Global petitioned Thailand’s bankruptcy court at the time and said it planned to restructure its debt.
By June 2025, rumors began circulating that Jakrajutatip was stepping away from the Miss Universe Organization after Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission filed a complaint against JKN Global. The complaint alleges that Jakrajutatip and her sister, Pimauma Jakrajutatip, included false or misleading information in the 2023 financial statements for the fiscal year and in the Q1 2024 accounting documents.
On June 6, JKN Global sent a letter to the president of Thailand’s Stock Exchange confirming that the sisters had resigned and that a special audit was underway. The same day, the Miss Universe Organization said Jakrajutatip remained in charge of the pageant.
“We categorically deny any reports suggesting a change in leadership within the organization. Anne Jakrajutatip remains the chief executive officer of the Miss Universe Organization,” the statement read.
However, in the new statement announcing Búcaro’s succession, the Miss Universe Organization said Jakrajutatip had stepped down as CEO on June 20 and was now turning her focus to her family.
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Before the 72nd Miss Universe competition in El Salvador, Jakrajutatip promised fans that the pageant was always “my first priority in life.”
“Our universe must go on, must be great and must stay on top as the legendary Beauty Olympics in the World! I will sacrifice and do everything for the great success of OUR UNIVERSE!” she wrote in a statement posted to Instagram in November 2023.
Jakrajutatip then became embroiled in several scandals of her own.
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- A video from an October 2023 Miss Universe staff meeting, obtained by Business Insider, showed Jakrajutatip telling staff that diverse contestants “can compete, but they can’t win.” She later said on Facebook that she was discussing a potential Miss Universe reality show.
- Weeks before Miss Universe 2024, Jakrajutatip and advisor Osmel Sousa judged contestants’ photos on Instagram Live. Sousa, who once told The New York Times that inner beauty “was something that unpretty women invented to justify themselves,” was seen laughing and making faces with Jakrajutatip at some contestants.
- After Miss Denmark Victoria Kjær Theilvig was crowned Miss Universe in November 2024, Jakrajutatip told reporters that she didn’t believe the pageant needed to evolve anymore. “We have blond and blue eyes,” Jakrajutatip said, referring to Theilvig’s appearance. “We already got the best here.”
- In March, former Miss Universe judge Denise White told Business Insider that Jakrajutatip had pressured longtime Miss Universe president Paula Shugart to ensure Miss Thailand made the top five during the 2023 pageant in El Salvador. White said Shugart told her, “I can’t believe Anne is telling me that, no matter what, we have to make sure Thailand is in the top five.” Shugart, who resigned during the competition, refused to comply. Thailand’s contestant ultimately placed as first runner-up. Jakrajutatip didn’t respond to a request for comment at the time and never publicly addressed the allegation.
Miss Universe has shared similar struggles with the Miss USA pageant, which it oversees. Following two years of scandal under former CEO Laylah Rose, the organization announced in September that Thom Brodeur was taking over Miss USA and Miss Teen USA.
Brodeur told Business Insider he had four weeks to plan the 2025 pageants, which took place on October 23 and 24 in Reno, Nevada. In the VIP section, Búcaro sat, preparing to take the reins of his own pageant.
