Ocean Spray Cranberries Inc. announced that its board of directors has unanimously elected Tom Hayes as the cooperative's next president and chief executive officer.
Hayes is the former president and CEO of Tyson Foods, the largest food company in the US with $40 billion in sales and 122,000 employees. At Tyson, Hayes introduced a new corporate brand, purpose, global growth strategy and approach to sustainability. He also led popular consumer brands including Tyson®, Jimmy Dean®, Hillshire Farm® and Ball Park®.
A native of southern New Hampshire, Hayes earned a BA from the University of New Hampshire and an MBA from Northwestern University. Prior to leading Tyson, Hayes was the chief supply chain officer at Hillshire Brands and Sara Lee. He has also held significant leadership roles at US Foods, ConAgra, and Kraft. Most recently, Hayes served as a partner at Entrepreneurial Equity Partners (e2p), a private equity firm that invests in middle market companies in the food industry.
