Sally Grimes, group president of the Tyson Foods Prepared Foods segment, has given notice that she will resign from the company.
Tyson Foods announced Grime’s intent to leave the company in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing on February 25. According to the filing, Grimes will remain with Tyson Foods until a successor is named, and she will continue to be a Tyson Foods employee through “an appropriate transition period.”
Tyson Foods, in its SEC filing, further stated that it anticipates entering a separation and release agreement, in which Grimes would be entitled to receive her annual base salary of $850,000 for 24 months following her departure from the company, among other benefits. A copy of the filing is available on the Tyson Foods website.
Grimes joined Tyson Foods in 2014 when it acquired Hillshire Brands. At Hillshire, Grimes served as the chief innovation officer and president of Hillshire’s Gourmet Food Group. She was chosen to lead Tyson’s innovation sales and global brand strategy teams upon the acquisition.
In February 2017, Tyson Foods named Grimes president, North American Retail. The company reassigned her to her current position as the president of the Prepared Food Division in August 2017.
Grimes’ departure from the company comes about 5 months after Tom Hayes, another former Hillshire Brands employee, stepped down as Tyson Foods’ chief executive officer (CEO). Hayes was also offered a severance package, with his valued at more than $6.35 million. Noel White is the company’s current CEO.
Tyson Foods, according to the WATTAgNet Top Companies Database, is the largest broiler company in the United States and the sixth largest turkey company in the nation, with 2017 figures cited.
The company has added to its U.S. poultry processing capacity with the 2018 acquisitions of Keystone Foods and Tecumseh Poultry. Tyson Foods has also agreed to purchase four plants in Thailand, one in the Netherlands and one in the United Kingdom from BRF.
