US – American multination meat corporation Tyson Foods has appointed group president of poultry Donnie King to the role of chief operating officer (COO).
The appointment comes at a time when the corporation which is the world’s second largest meat company is implementing a number of organisational changes intended to create a more agile business.
King took up the position of group president of poultry in September 2020 and will continue to serve in this role, in addition to his COO duties.
King first joined Tyson Foods in 1982 where he served in poultry plant, complex and supply chain management.
He has since held a variety of executive leadership positions including president of North American operations, group president of international and chief administration officer.
The company is making a series of organisational changes designed to improve operational agility, customer experience and speed of innovation to market.
The group’s customer sales will for instance, be embedded within each of the four business segments – chicken, beef, pork and prepared foods – to focus on customers’ needs and to deliver more efficiently on them.
As a result, customer sales will be embedded within each of the four business segments – chicken, beef, pork and prepared foods – to focus on customers’ needs and to deliver more efficiently on them.
“We must accelerate our pace of change to not only meet but exceed our customers’ expectations while delivering high quality, innovative products. That’s why we’re adapting our organisation to enable our businesses to respond rapidly to the changing environment,” said Dean Banks, president and CEO of Tyson Foods.
In his new role as COO, King will report to Banks. Meanwhile, the group presidents of fresh meat, prepared foods and international, as well as the chief customer officer will report to King.
“We must simplify and focus our structure to facilitate faster operational decision making, and we must remove obstacles to provide an unmatched customer experience,” said King.
“This is part of an ongoing process of aligning resources around our business segment structure to ensure Tyson Foods is able to meet customers’ needs where they are and in real time,” he added.
At the end of last year, Tyson Foods fired seven plant managers following an independent investigation into Covid-19 wagering allegations at its facility in Waterloo, Iowa.
In a recent meeting, Tyson Foods investors however rejected a call for the company, which operates large meatpacking plants in Iowa, to disclose more information about how it protects workers from abuse.
In addition to the human rights report, investors rejected a measure to recapitalize the company’s structure, so that each share of stock is equal.
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