Tyson Foods says CEO to leave, names replacement

(Reuters) – Tyson Foods Inc on Monday said Chief Executive Officer Tom Hayes would leave the company and named long-time insider Noel White as his replacement.

Hayes, who is stepping down for personal reasons, was appointed the chief executive officer of the No. 1 U.S. meat processor in 2016.

The maker of Ball Park hotdogs and Jimmy Dean sausages — which has come under pressure from trade spats that have disrupted U.S. pork exports, increased domestic supplies and hurt prices — also reaffirmed its full-year adjusted profit forecast on Monday.

White, who joined Tyson following its acquisition of IBP in 2001, was most recently Tyson’s chief operations officer. He will take over at the end of the month, the company said.

The company’s shares were down nearly 3 percent at $61.65 in premarket trading.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Sweta Singh)