Smithfield Foods changes the leader
Kenneth M. Sullivan, Smithfield's president and chief executive officer, will retire from the company, effective in early 2021, and is going to be replaced with the company's COO, Dennis Organ, announced Smithfield Foods in a press release. During his five years as president and chief executive officer, Sullivan delivered record results and led Smithfield through a transformation. Several years of his CEO-ship were devoted to the realization of "One Smithfield," the initiative that unified all Smithfield's operations, brands and more than 55,000 employees globally under one corporate umbrella.
"It has been a great honor and privilege to lead Smithfield for the past five years. As a leading global food and agriculture company, we have an incredibly important role to play in society. It is an obligation we have proudly embraced over our more than 80-year history. We have persevered through an extraordinary time in 2020. Together, we have met unprecedented challenges head-on. More than ever before, we have lived the values embodied in our preeminent guiding principle, Responsibility, and our tagline 'Good food. Responsibly'. I know the future holds great promise and opportunity for Smithfield and all its 55,000 team members in the US and Europe," said Mr. Sullivan.
Organ joined Smithfield in 2010 and assumed his current position as chief operating officer, US operations, in 2019. For the past two years, he has overseen the day-to-day operations of the company's entire vertically integrated domestic business, including its more than 40,000 team members across 32 states.
"I am incredibly thankful and excited to have the opportunity to lead and serve Smithfield. I want to personally thank WH Group for their trust and confidence in me. We are tremendously fortunate to have had Ken at the helm of our company for the last five years, and particularly this past year. Thanks to Ken and his leadership, and the actions of our Smithfield Family, our ROI guiding principles now underpins everything we do and are our keys to success. Building on our ROI foundation together is our path forward," said Mr. Organ.
Wan Long, executive director, chairman and chief executive officer, for WH Group, Smithfield's publicly traded parent company, said: "Ken has provided outstanding leadership to Smithfield over the last five years. We are extremely grateful for his many contributions to WH Group throughout his tenure and wish him well in his retirement. Looking forward, Dennis' experience as chief operating officer will prove invaluable as he leads Smithfield forward. We believe he is the ideal person to continue to optimize Smithfield's unique assets for the benefit of all our stakeholders. We believe Smithfield's best days are yet to come."
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