Tyson Foods’ CEO pay up 33%; company makes management changes

Tyson Foods, the largest U.S. meat processor, reported a record fiscal revenue of $53.28 billion and net income of $3.249 billion, which led to higher pay for most company’s executives, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday (Dec. 21).

Tyson Foods CEO Donnie King earned total compensation of $12.014 million, up 33% from last year. King’s base salary of $1.296 million was raised from $980,464 last year. Stock awards increased to $5.125 million, a gain of 39% year over year. Bonus pay rose to $3.432 million and is tied to the company’s overall financial performance. Last year King’s bonus pay totaled $2.679 million. King also received $1.65 million in stock options, compared to $1.425 million earned a year ago. Other compensation totaled $509,698 this year, up from $245,284 a year ago. King is also a board member for which he receives no added compensation.

Stewart Glendinning served as the company’s chief financial officer for several years, including fiscal 2022. His total compensation totaled $4.438 million, down from $5.238 million a year ago. Glendinning’s base salary was $787,000 unchanged from the prior year, bonus and stock awards were a bit lower from the year-ago period. Glendinning has since transitioned to manage the company’s prepared foods division.

Glendinning was replaced by John R. Tyson, who took over as CFO to start fiscal 2022. Tyson’s earnings are not part of the proxy filing, but his base salary was $650,000 a year in his contract, which was made public in September. Glendinning assumed the role of president for prepared foods, a job that was vacated by Noelle O’Marra last year. O’Marra earned total pay of $4.641 million last year at Tyson Foods.

Chief Technology Officer Scott Spradley had total compensation of $4.982 million. His base salary was $696,615, and his annual bonus pay totaled $1.121 million. Spradley also had stock and option awards totaling more than $2 million and other incentives that came to $191,546.

Amy Tu, chief legal counsel and corporate secretary for Tyson Foods, earned total pay of $4.982 million, up from $4.73 million in the prior year. Tu’s base salary rose to $727,000, up 13% year over year. Her stock and option awards rose to $2.686 million, up from $2.375 million a year ago. Bonus pay totaled $1.276 million, down from $1.476 million last year. Her other compensation was on par with a year at $268,000.

Tu was recently promoted to president of International business and chief administrative officer, expanding her leadership role as chief legal officer and secretary, global governance and corporate affairs. The international president role Tu assumed was recently held by Chris Langholz. Prior to his termination, Langholz’s total pay was $4.405 million, down from $5.289 million the prior year.

Tyson Foods also announced that Shane Miller, who led the company’s fresh meats business out of Dakota Dunes, S.D., was retiring and not making the move to Northwest Arkansas. The company tapped Smithfield executive Brady Stewart to take over for Miller early next year. Stewart will report to King and be responsible for the beef and pork divisions at Tyson Foods. The company said he will focus on optimizing the business processes and building efficiencies throughout the business segments.

Stewart has more than two decades of experience in the meat protein business. During his time at Smithfield, Stewart led the company’s pork business overseeing more than 500 company-owned farms and 46 production facilities. He also worked to vertically integrate the supply chain. Stewart led sourcing and procurement, transportation, warehousing and logistics for Smithfield’s domestic supply chain. He spent five years at Smithfield and 14 years working in executive roles at Pine Ridge Farms and sister company Kansas City Sausage.