Tyson Foods expands board to 11 with Proctor & Gamble exec

Springdale-based Tyson Foods has added 54-year-old, Jeffrey Schomburger, global sales officer for Procter & Gamble, to its board of directors. Schomburger will be an independent director and takes the board to 11 directors, eight of which are independent.

Schomburger has held numerous leadership positions with P&G since joining the company in 1984, including president of the Global Wal-Mart team from 2005 to 2015. He started with P&G as a sales representative and was promoted up the ranks in the company’s paper products business. He was moved to the company’s customer marketing organization, managing various assignments in Western Europe, including vice president of sales for Western Europe, before returning to the U.S. to lead P&G’s Global Wal-Mart business. He was named to his current position in 2015.

“Jeff’s deep understanding of the branded consumer packaged goods business and his experience as a leader are among the reasons our nominating committee recommended him,” said board chairman John Tyson. “We’re pleased to have him on the board and look forward to his input as we continue to grow our branded food business.”

A native of Florida, Schomburger graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina where he earned a bachelor’s degree in economics. Schomburger now lives in Cincinnati after spending a decade in Northwest Arkansas for P&G until last year.

In addition to Schomburger and chairman John Tyson, other members of the Tyson Foods board of directors are Gaurdie Banister Jr.; former Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe; Mikel Durham; Tyson Foods President and incoming CEO Tom Hayes; Kevin McNamara; Brad Sauer; Donnie Smith, Robert Thurber and Barbara Tyson.