Hormel Foods Corporation
Leadership History
4 leaders · 1993 to present
Jeffrey M. Ettinger is the CEO of Hormel. The first chief executive was Joel W. Johnson, from 1993.
| Name | Role | From | To | Years in role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Ghingo | President; CEO effective October 26, 2026 | 2025 | Present | 1 |
| Jeffrey M. Ettinger | Interim Chief Executive Officer | 2025 | 2026 | 1 |
| Jim Snee | Former Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer | 2016 | 2025 | 9 |
| Joel W. Johnson | Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer | 1993 | 2005 | 12 |
Hormel Foods is a Fortune 500 food company headquartered in Austin, Minnesota, the town nicknamed 'Spam Town USA.' It owns more than 30 brands, including SPAM, Planters, Skippy, Applegate, Wholly, Hormel Black Label, Columbus and Jennie-O, and sells to grocery retailers, restaurant operators and international markets. About 20,000 people work for the company, which trades on the NYSE as HRL.
Hormel buys commodity inputs (mainly pork, turkey, peanuts and other nuts) and sells them as branded, value-added foods. A raw pound of pork earns thin margins; cured, sliced and branded as Hormel pepperoni, Black Label bacon or a Columbus charcuterie tray, it earns more. Sales run through three segments: Retail ($7.455 billion in FY2025, grocery, club, mass and convenience), Foodservice ($3.942 billion, restaurants and distributors) and International ($709 million, exports, overseas plants and minority investments).
President; CEO effective October 26, 2026
2025 – Present
1 year (current)
Ghingo previously led Applegate and Hormel's Retail segment. He was elevated to president in July 2025 and named the next president and CEO, effective October 26, 2026.
As CEO-elect he is focused on priority brands, foodservice growth and portfolio shaping, including the Brakebush chicken acquisition.
Interim Chief Executive Officer
2025 – 2026
1 year
Ettinger joined Hormel as a corporate attorney in 1989, was CEO from 2005 to 2016, and led deals including Skippy (2013) and Applegate (2015). He returned as interim CEO on July 14, 2025, for a defined term ending October 25, 2026.
As interim CEO he oversaw the Transform and Modernize cost program, the Brazil divestiture and the Brakebush agreement, while adjusted earnings returned to growth in fiscal 2026.
Former Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
2016 – 2025
9 years
Snee joined Hormel in 1989 and became CEO in 2016. He led the $3.35 billion purchase of Planters from Kraft Heinz in 2021 and reorganized Hormel into Retail, Foodservice and International segments.
Snee broadened Hormel into snacking, but his final years were marked by commodity inflation, turkey weakness and falling profits. He retired as CEO in July 2025 and agreed to stay on as an advisor during the transition.
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
1993 – 2005
12 years
Johnson became chief executive in 1993, the year the company took the Hormel Foods name, and bought Jennie-O Turkey Store's partner The Turkey Store in 2001.
He moved Hormel toward branded and convenience foods. Jeffrey Ettinger succeeded him at the start of 2006.
Hormel's challenges include falling retail volumes (down 9% in Q3 fiscal 2026), commodity turkey and private-label snack nut declines, input and logistics costs, pressured consumers, GLP-1-related diet changes, one-time charges from portfolio reshaping, and a CEO transition.
Jeffrey M. Ettinger, Hormel's CEO from 2006 to 2016, returned as interim CEO on July 14, 2025, after Jim Snee retired. President John Ghingo has been named the next President and CEO, effective October 26, 2026.
Under Jim Snee (CEO 2016-2025), Hormel bought Planters for $3.35 billion in 2021 and reorganized into Retail, Foodservice and International segments, but profits fell late in his tenure.
Jeffrey M. Ettinger served as CEO of Hormel Foods from 2005 to 2016. Ettinger spearheaded the transformative acquisitions of Applegate Farms, Skippy peanut butter, and MegaMex Foods, pivoting Hormel from a Midwestern meatpacker into a modern branded food leader.
Joel W. Johnson served as CEO from 1993 to 2005. He oversaw large revenue growth, established The Hormel Foundation's Austin Medical Center partnership, accelerated ethnic food expansion, and acquired Jennie-O Foods and Turkey Store to dominate the turkey protein category.
Richard L. Knowlton served as CEO from 1981 to 1993. An Austin native who started working at Hormel as a teenager, Knowlton led the company through the tumultuous 1985 to 1986 union strike, modernized plant automation, and drove international brand licensing.
Hormel maintains a strong promote-from-within culture. Nearly all modern CEOs spent 20 to 30+ years rising through sales, operations, and international divisions, ensuring deep operational domain expertise and preservation of corporate culture.
The CEO typically serves as Chairman of the Board, working alongside an independent Lead Director and board committees that represent both public shareholder interests and The Hormel Foundation's long-term community mission.
Jay C. Hormel, the founder's son and CEO from 1929 to 1954, was an enlightened industrialist who introduced the SPAM brand, created one of the nation's first guaranteed annual wage systems, and instituted employee profit-sharing and pension plans.
Jim Snee serves as CEO. Taking over in 2016, he realized that heavy reliance on raw meat processing was dangerous due to volatile commodity prices. He brilliantly executed massive, multi-billion-dollar acquisitions to permanently transition Hormel into a broader "global branded food company," aggressively targeting snacking and even plant-based meats.
Compare executive leadership tenures and strategic transitions
Explore Hormel
Core profile pages, founders and related research hubs for this company.