Hormel Chief to Retire
James P. Snee, who has been at the helm of Hormel Foods Corp. as chairman of the board, president and CEO for nearly nine years, is retiring. The 36-year company veteran announced his departure this week, as Hormel forms a search committee to find his successor.
After the new leader is appointed, Snee will serve as a strategic advisor to the board through the end of fiscal 2025 and for 18 months after that. The committee will consider both internal and external candidates.
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Snee joined Hormel Foods in 1989 and continually rose through the proverbial ranks. He oversaw the expansion of its portfolio of protein-based brands, along with additions to the Planters snacking group, the Fontanini foodservice unit and the South America-focused Cerati brand. In addition, Snee spearheaded transformation efforts and steered the company to its 59th consecutive year of annual dividend increases.
"On behalf of the entire board of directors, we extend our gratitude to Jim for his dedication to Hormel Foods, its stockholders, its employees and its communities. We congratulate him on an impactful career and look forward to working with him in the months ahead to execute an effective transition and deliver on our business imperatives,” remarked Bill Newlands, the independent lead director of the board at Hormel.
Snee said he is grateful for his long and rewarding tenure at the Austin, Minn.-based legacy CPG. “As CEO of Hormel Foods for the last eight years, I have been blessed to work alongside the most talented and committed team in the industry. I am proud of the impactful, innovative and transformational work we have accomplished during my tenure, which has been a period of rapid and significant change. My heartfelt gratitude goes to the leaders who came before me and to all the dedicated colleagues I’ve worked with during my 36-year career. As we begin this transition, I’m confident in the bright future that lies ahead for Hormel Foods,” he declared.
In December, Hormel Foods announced its fourth quarter and fiscal 2024 year results. For the year, the company posted net sales of $11.9 billion; fourth quarter sales topped $3.1 billion. “The combination of underlying business strength and the capture of $75 million in operating income benefit from our Transform and Modernize initiative helped to offset a dynamic consumer environment, the steep decline in whole bird turkey commodity markets, and the production disruption at our Suffolk, Virginia, facility,” Snee said at the time.
