Cobb elevates Todd Wilson to GM of North American division
by October 7, 2016 11:21 am 968 views
Cobb-Vantress Inc., a subsidiary of Tyson Foods Inc. in Springdale, recently announced an appointment and a promotion after a senior vice president retired from his position at the Siloam Springs-based broiler breeding company.
Todd Wilson, a former senior director for Tyson Foods, has been appointed general manager of Cobb’s North American division, according to a company news release.
He is replacing Mike Pruitt, who has been elevated to senior vice president of support services and pedigree production for the company. That job was open after Randy Vardeman retired.
Wilson has more than 25 years of experience working in the U.S. poultry industry, and was senior director of continuous improvement for Tyson Foods before joining Cobb, according to the release.
“Todd’s industry experience and technical background make him a valuable asset to our strong North American team,” Stan Reid, vice president of North and South Americas for Cobb, said in the release. “His proven leadership skills make him an excellent choice to work with our production, sales and technical service teams.”
Since 1989, Wilson has worked a series of management positions for Tyson Foods, overseeing broilers, breeders and hatcheries for Tyson Foods.
He started as a front-line broiler services technician after graduating from Virginia Tech University with a bachelor of science in poultry. After two years, he became hatchery manager in Broadway, Virginia. Then, he moved to broiler, breeder and live production management positions in Sedalia, Missouri.
In 1999, he was promoted to complex manager in Berlin, Maryland, and in 2003, became director of live operations before being named senior director of continuous improvement.
As general manager, Wilson will work at Cobb’s world headquarters in Siloam Springs.
Cobb sells its broiler breeding stock in more than 120 countries. It operates over 40 facilities worldwide and has 65 distributors.
The company is the oldest broiler breeding company in the world and recently introduced a new president, Joel Sappenfield.