Donnie Smith: Tyson Foods Head

Donnie Smith hails from Bell Buckle, Tennessee.  He was a pre-vet major who later shifted courses and graduated with an animal science degree from the University of Tennessee.  After graduating he joined Tyson Foods in December 1980.

Donnie began his career at Tyson as a broiler service rep. After a few years he was promoted to feed mill manager in Shelbyville, Tennessee. Then the CEO transferred Donnie to company headquarters in Springdale, Arizona in 1987 to work with the company’s grain purchasing group.  By the mid-1990’s he was in charge of additional purchasing groups including bags, box, food ingredients, maintenance items and more.

Donnie was then moved to logistics overseeing transportation and warehousing. As the company grew in diversity with the acquisition of a major beef company Donnie’s importance in the company also grew handling ever greater level of responsibilities. In fact the guy with a degree in animal science even became the Chief Information Officer at one point heading the company’s information systems.

Donnie, after more promotions eventually became president and CEO in 2009. He is credited with turning the company around after it experienced a sharp downturn during the financial crisis.