Smithfield Foods names new president and COO

Published August 20, 2015 by Robert Powell, III

Smithfield Foods Inc. on Thursday named Kenneth M. Sullivan its president and chief operating officer, effective Oct 1.

C. Larry Pope, Smithfield’s president and chief executive officer, will remain CEO of the Smithfield-based company.

Sullivan, who has been with the company since 2003, currently is executive vice president and chief financial officer.

Glenn T. Nunziata, a partner at Ernst & Young, will succeed Sullivan as CFO.

As president and chief operating officer, Sullivan will assume the day-to-day operating responsibility for the company's fresh pork, packaged meats and hog production divisions in the United States, as well as international sales/exports, among other responsibilities.

Sullivan was named executive vice president earlier this year in addition to his role as chief financial officer. He has held a number of financial positions in the company, including vice president of finance from 2010 to 2013 and chief accounting officer from 2007 to 2013.

Before  joining Smithfield, Sullivan spent 12 years at large public accounting and consulting firms.

As chief financial officer, Nunziata will assume leadership of Smithfield's finance, treasury, risk management, accounting and IT functions. He has been with Ernst & Young for 19 years.

Smithfield Foods, which has annual revenues of $15 billion, is the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. It is owned by Shuanghui International in China.