PITTSBURG, Texas -- Pilgrim's Pride Corp., the world's largest chicken company, has elected J. Clinton Rivers as president and chief executive officer, effective immediately.
Rivers, 49, has served as chief operating officer since 2004.
A special subcommittee of the board of directors had been conducting a search for a new president and CEO following the unexpected death of O.B. Goolsby Jr. last December. The board unanimously elected Rivers to the position.
"After a thorough review of internal and external candidates, the board unanimously agreed that Clint has the right combination of experience and skills necessary to lead Pilgrim's Pride into the future," said Ken Pilgrim, chairman of Pilgrim's Pride and chairman of the subcommittee that conducted the search. "Clint loves a challenge, and we are confident that he will provide the leadership necessary to position the company for long-term growth."
Rivers joined the company as quality assurance manager in 1986. He was appointed plant manager of the Mt. Pleasant, Texas, production facility in 1989. He was promoted to vice president of prepared foods operations in 1992, then moved up to senior vice president of prepared foods operations, a post he held until 2002. After that, he was promoted to executive vice president of prepared foods operations. He has also held positions at Perdue Farms and Golden West Foods.
Rivers earned a bachelor of science degree in animal science from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Va.
"I am proud and honored to lead a company with such a rich history of innovation and service to our customers," said Rivers. "It's clear that we have a lot of work ahead of us, but I know that our 55,000 employees are ready to deliver on our mission of being a world-class food company."
Pilgrim said no decision has been made at this time about a new COO.
Pilgrim's Pride Corp., based in Pittsburg, Texas, is the largest chicken company in the U.S. and Puerto Rico and the second largest in Mexico. The company operates 37 chicken processing and 12 prepared-foods facilities, with major operations in Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Mexico and Puerto Rico as well as other facilities in Arizona, Iowa, Mississippi, Ohio and Utah.
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