Tyson Foods, one of the world’s largest meat companies, has suspended its chief financial officer after his second arrest in less than two years on charges related to intoxication.
John R Tyson, the son of board chair John H Tyson and great-grandson of the company’s founder, was arrested for driving while intoxicated in Tyson Foods’ home state of Arkansas early on Thursday, according to police records. He was released on a $1,105 bond nine hours later.
The 34-year-old was promoted to CFO in September 2022. Weeks later he was arrested on charges of public intoxication and trespassing after a woman found him asleep in her bed. He apologised and later pleaded guilty to two misdemeanours.
Tyson Foods, based in Springdale, Arkansas, is the largest meatpacking company in the US. It operates hundreds of plants processing chicken, pork and cattle and employs more than 130,000 people. Sales at the company, which is behind the Jimmy Dean and Hillshire Farm brands, totalled $53bn in its latest fiscal year.
While publicly listed, it is controlled by the Tyson family through supervoting shares.
Shares in Tyson Foods closed 1.6 per cent lower at $53.86 on Thursday.
Tyson Foods said Curt Calaway would step into the CFO role on an interim basis after John R Tyson was suspended from his duties. An 18-year veteran of the company, he was most recently CFO of the group’s prepared foods segment.
John R Tyson previously served as chief sustainability officer after he joined the company in 2019. He received $2.9mn in total pay in fiscal 2023, including a base salary of $650,000 and about $2mn in stock and option awards, according to a securities filing.
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