Industry Mag Meat & Poultry Profiles Donnie Smith

Donnie Smith, the CEO of Tyson Foods Inc., didn’t have the grades to be a veterinarian, and ultimately tricked Tyson Foods into giving him first job after college.

That is according to Meat & Poultry magazine, an industry-leading publication that will feature a wide-ranging interview with Smith in its August issue cover story.

An early reveal of the profile is available at meatandpoultry.com. The magazine profiles Smith as “Tyson Foods’ servant leader.”

“No one wants a leader who seems to not know what he’s doing,” Smith explained to M&P contributing editor Steve Kay. “So you have to appear confident without being arrogant or too self-confident.”

Smith, according to the interview, had his eye on veterinary school when he enrolled at the University of Tennessee. A faculty advisor named Charles Goan, however, had other ideas after looking at Smith’s grades, and suggested poultry science instead.

“I was padding my resume,” Smith recalled. “I thought, maybe I don’t have the grades but if I was a well-rounded student, maybe they would let me in. I was using the poultry science club to pad my resume and Dr. Goan knew Tyson had a complex in Shelbyville. He said, and we have joked about this for years, that he thought I could trick them into hiring me. And sure enough I did. So here I am.”

Smith, who will mark 35 years with Tyson Foods in December, was appointed president and CEO in 2009.