Cobb-Vantress names Stan Reid interim president after Joel Sappenfield departs

Siloam Springs-based broiler breeder Cobb-Vantress Inc. recently announced that Stan Reid, vice president of North and South America, was named interim president after the recent departure of Joel Sappenfield, who had served as president since 2016.

In a news release, Cobb-Vantress, a company of Springdale-based meat producer Tyson Foods Inc., didn’t indicate why Sappenfield left the company or where he went. Before joining the company in 2016, Sappenfield had worked for Tyson Foods since 1990. In 2016, he was appointed as president and successor to Jerry Moye, who retired after 25 years with Cobb.

“We’re grateful for Joel’s many contributions to the company and have great confidence in Stan’s ability to continue executing our global strategy, developed by the Cobb leadership team,” said Donnie King, president of poultry for Tyson Foods, which owns Cobb-Vantress. “Cobb is a unique and important part [of] the global poultry supply chain, and we’re proud of the company’s critical role in helping feed people around the world.”

Asked why Sappenfield left Cobb-Vantress and to where did he go, marketing staff for Cobb said “we cannot share additional information about former personnel beyond what is included in the release.”

Reid has nearly 40 years of experience in the industry and has worked at Cobb for 20 years. With the company, he’s served as a U.S. sales manager, director of sales and service, general manager of North American business and vice president of Asia and North American business units before starting to oversee all global business units in 2007. He was promoted to vice president of North and South America in 2015, and this role also included overseeing global marketing for Cobb.

Before joining Cobb in 2001, Reid worked in sales at Merial Inc., now Boehringer Ingelheim, and Agri-Bio. He previously worked at Foster Farms in California where he was responsible for contract grower broiler production and the hatchery and live production divisions. He was raised on a poultry and cattle farm in Alabama and spent his early career at Spring Valley Farms/Lane Poultry, which is owned by Tyson Foods, and was a broiler service technician. He also was a broiler technician at Gold Kist Farms, which is owned by Pilgrim’s Pride/JBS USA.

“I am excited about the future of Cobb and continuing to move our business and iconic brand forward,” Reid said. “I am honored to have been chosen to help lead Cobb during this transition. Our team remains committed to supporting and building relationships with our customers around the world. There are some exciting things coming in the future, and we are poised for growth.”

Established in 1916, Cobb is the oldest broiler breeder and distributes poultry to more than 120 countries. It relocated its corporate headquarters to Siloam Springs, from Concord, Mass., in 1986. Tyson Foods purchased Cobb in 1994.