Wes Morris exits retirement to become COO at Tyson Foods

The management shakeup continues at Tyson Foods, with the latest news being Wes Morris named chief operating officer. He will begin the job June 15, and is replacing Devin Cole, who is stepping away from the job he has held since September 2025.

Cole rejoined Tyson Foods in 2024 from George’s Inc. where he worked for seven years. Before that, he logged time at Keystone Foods and spent 20 years at Tyson Foods from 1994 to 2014.

Morris, 60, was most recently the group president of Tyson’s poultry business from January 2023 to February 2025, and he remained with the company until early 2026. He is coming out of retirement to take the job, which follows recent news of a CEO shift at the Springdale-based company.

Tyson Foods CEO Donnie King will step down in October at the end of the meat giant’s fiscal year. King, who has been with Tyson foods for 43 years, was brought out of retirement in May 2021 to stabilize the Springdale-based company. King, 64, is being succeeded by Jeffrey Schomburger, 64, a Tyson board member who has no operational experience in the company.

From October 2020 through January 2023, Morris worked as a consultant to Tyson Foods. He worked in multiple leadership roles with Tyson Foods between 1999 and 2017, including president of the prepared foods business.

Morris agreed to a base salary of $1.35 million as well as participation in the company’s annual performance incentive programs and eligibility for equity awards under Tyson’s equity incentive plans. His target incentive bonus will be 160% of his base salary, and his annual long-term incentive target will be $5.9 million.

He will receive restricted stock valued at $1.5 million effective July 10, which will vest 33% annually over the next three years, subject to his continued employment. Should he be terminated without cause or suffer death or permanent disability, Tyson has agreed to pay Morris up to two years’ base salary, a pro-rata cash bonus on actual performance during his tenure, and medical coverage for up to 18 months.

His executive officer status also entitles him to personal use of the company-owned aircraft for up to 30 hours per calendar year. This is a taxable benefit. He is also held to a 24-month non-compete agreement.

Tyson noted in the filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it expects to enter into a separation agreement with Cole and will report once it is finalized.

Shares of Tyson Foods (NYSE: TSN) have continued to see a price decline following the news of a CEO change. The stock price has tumbled more than 11% since the executive management changes were announced on May 28.