Hormel Foods President and CEO Snee to retire

(ABC 6 News) – Hormel Foods announced the retirement of their chairman of the board, president and C.E.O., James P. Snee. He will be ending his time with the Fortune 500 at the end of fiscal 2025. Snee has spent 36 years with Hormel Foods.

Moving forward, the Hormel Foods Boad has a search committee in place to find Snee’s successor. The company will be considering both internal and external candidates for the position. Once the new CEO is in place, Snee has agreed to serve as a strategic advisor to the Board. He will remain there for 18 months following the end of fiscal year 2025.

“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,” said Hormel Food Board’s independent lead director Bill Newlands.

Under Snee’s leadership, the company grew its roster of protein-centric brands. That includes acquisitions in its Retail, Foodservice and International segments. Examples are PLANTERS^® snacking portfolio, the FONTANINI^® branded foodservice business and the South America-focused CERATTI^® brand. 

“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,” remarked Snee on his retirement.

However, Snee is a candidate for election to the Board at its 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. The election is scheduled for January 28, 2025. If elected, Snee is expected to serve as a director. A successor will then assume his executive roles.