Smithfield Foods Inc. announced a realignment of its organization and key senior management appointments that unify all of its independent operating companies, brands, marketing, and more than 48,000 employees around the world under one corporate umbrella to accelerate the Company's growth and further its mission of providing "Good food. Responsibly." Smithfield's business operations will now be organized in alignment with the Company's customers and managed as four divisions - Packaged Meats, Fresh Pork, Hog Production and International.
"We are thrilled to launch this new structure that better supports our people, brands and customers while positioning Smithfield to take advantage of opportunities for growth," said C. Larry Pope, president and chief executive officer. "The steps we are taking today build on our strong momentum and successes as we continue to solidify Smithfield's position as a global leader in branded packaged meats. Moving to a centralized structure and bringing our resources and brands together into these four operating divisions enables us to best utilize management talent across the Company and maintain our commitment to serving our customers as we always have while more effectively providing our full array of products. Further, we are excited about the potential to leverage marketing programs and sponsorships, such as our involvement in NASCAR, across all of our brands."