Jeffrey M. Ettinger
Interim Chief Executive Officer
Executive
1 yr
9 reports
Leadership change James P. Snee departed as CEO · DEF 14A filed Dec 17, 2025
Hormel Foods Corporation ·HRL
Interim CEO leads unusually small, transition-era executive team
Food, Beverages & Tobacco · Fortune #352 · Hybrid structure · 20K employees · Austin, Minnesota, USA
View as of:
5
CEO span
↓ tighter than peers (avg 9)
2.2
Avg span
tight
3
Max depth
3 levels
6.6 yr
Avg tenure
↓ 3.6yr from FY2024
60%
Internal hires
↑ above industry avg
Consolidated financials FY2017 · period end 2017-10-29 · 10-K
Revenue
$9.2B
Operating income
$719M
Net income
$478M
Total assets
$13.4B
Sourced from Hormel Foods Corporation DEF 14A · filed 2025-12-17 ↗ View on SEC
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Hormel Foods Corporation organizational chart
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Interim CEO Jeffrey Ettinger leads Hormel Foods with a notably small executive team during a leadership transition. This page maps the current org structure, highlights recent executive changes, and compares Hormel’s flatter model with packaged-food peers.
What to model
Use the chart to test org decisions, not just view reporting lines
Start with the public baseline, then use the scenario views and source-backed changes to ask what happens when leadership, span, or team ownership shifts.
Latest signal Paul Kuehneman joined as Interim Chief Financial Officer
Appointed effective October 27, 2025.
Source · See change logScenario views in the chart
- Appoint Permanent CEO The board appoints a permanent CEO, potentially expanding the C-suite and redefining reporting lines.
- Add Chief Operating Officer Introduce a COO to reduce operational load on the CEO and President.
Atlas work this supports
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The people
Who's running this
6 executives identified as Named Executive Officers in the most recent SEC proxy. Bar length scales with tenure.
internal
John F. Ghingo
President
Executive
1 yr
2 reports
internal
Paul Kuehneman
Interim Chief Financial Officer and Controller
Finance
1 yr
1 reports
Colleen R. Batcheler
Senior Vice President, External Affairs, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
Legal
2 yr
1 reports
internal
Swen Neufeldt
Group Vice President, Hormel Foods International
International
19 yr
0 reports
internal
D. Scott Aakre
Group Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer – Retail
Marketing
10 yr
0 reports
The pay
Executive compensation
From the most recent DEF 14A Summary Compensation Table. 1 named executive officers disclosed. Bar length scales with total compensation.
Jeffrey M. Ettinger $6.4M
- Base salary
- $323K
- Bonus
- $1.80M
- Stock awards
- $3.83M
- Option awards
- $381K
- Non-equity incentive
- $381K
- Pension change
- $35K
- Other
- $65K
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
- Source
- SEC DEF 14A ↗
The skin in the game
Beneficial ownership
Insider stock holdings and the company's ownership requirements for executives and directors. Disclosed in the most recent DEF 14A.
Stock ownership requirements
5×CEO base salary
1.5×NEO base salary
5×Director cash retainer
Stock ownership guidelines based on multiples of base salary or board retainer.
The businesses
How Hormel Foods Corporation divides the work
3 divisions report into the group CEO. Tile size scales with estimated headcount.
Retail
9K employees
President (John F. Ghingo)
Manages branded consumer products sold through U.S. retail channels.
Foodservice
5K employees
President (John F. Ghingo)
Supplies food products to restaurants, healthcare, and institutional customers.
International
3K employees
Group VP, International (Swen Neufeldt)
Oversees global retail and foodservice operations outside the U.S.
The thesis
Why this org is unusual
Hormel Foods is currently led by an interim CEO with a deliberately compact executive team, reflecting a transition period following the 2025 CEO and CFO departures.
The structure shows most enterprise power concentrated at the CEO level, with six direct reports and limited layering beneath them. This contrasts with many peers that operate with deeper segment autonomy.
The President role is elevated, overseeing both Retail and Foodservice operations, while International remains a standalone group under a long-tenured internal leader. Finance is temporarily centralized under an interim CFO, signaling a likely future reconfiguration once a permanent appointment is made.
- Interim CEO and interim CFO simultaneously
- President role central to operations
- International led by long-tenured internal executive
The comparison
How Hormel Foods Corporation stacks up
Compared with peers such as Tyson Foods and Conagra Brands, Hormel operates with a smaller C-suite and fewer named segment CEOs. Competitors typically maintain permanent COOs or multiple divisional presidents, while Hormel currently relies on an interim CEO–President pairing. This flatter structure may enable faster …
C-suite size
Reporting depth
Hormel Foods Corporation
3 levels
5 levels
5 levels
6 levels
6 levels
Avg C-suite tenure
Has COO / Has CAIO
Hormel Foods Corporation — no COO — no CAIO
Current signals
What changed recently
Hormel entered 2025–2026 with an interim CEO and CFO following the retirement of long-time CEO James Snee.
- new
- departed
- new
Leadership Timeline
Year-over-year executive structure based on SEC proxy and annual filings.
FY2025
DEF 14A filed 2025-12-17
- CEO
- Jeffrey M. Ettinger
- CEO span
- 5
- C-suite
- 6
- Avg tenure
- 6.5 yr
Leadership transition year following long-time CEO retirement.
Named executive officers (4)
- Jeffrey M. Ettinger - Interim Chief Executive Officer since 2025
- John F. Ghingo - President since 2025
- Colleen R. Batcheler - SVP, General Counsel since 2024
- Swen Neufeldt - Group VP, International since 2006
FY2024
DEF 14A filed 2024-12-18
- CEO
- James P. Snee
- CEO span
- 6
- C-suite
- 7
- Avg tenure
- 10.2 yr
Stable leadership under long-tenured CEO.
Named executive officers (1)
- James P. Snee - President and Chief Executive Officer since 2017
Year-over-year changes
Hormel shifted from a long-tenured CEO to an interim leadership model with a smaller executive team.
- CEO span: 6 → 5
- C-suite size: 7 → 6
- Avg tenure: 10.2 → 6.5 yr
- departed James P. Snee - CEO (DEF 14A filed Dec 17, 2025)
- new Jeffrey M. Ettinger - Interim CEO (was Board Member) (DEF 14A filed Dec 17, 2025)
The board
Board of directors
2 directors. 1 of 2 independent (50%). Source: most recent DEF 14A.
Jeffrey M. Ettinger
Inside
Interim CEO, Hormel Foods
William A. Newlands
Chair Independent
CEO, Constellation Brands
Also on: Constellation Brands
The board, organized
Board committees
1 standing committees. Audit and Compensation must be 100% independent under SEC rules; the rest vary.
Audit Committee
100% independent 8 mtgs/yr
- William A. Newlands Chair
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the CEO of Hormel Foods?
Jeffrey M. Ettinger has served as Interim CEO since July 14, 2025.
What type of organizational structure does Hormel Foods use?
Hormel uses a hybrid enterprise structure combining centralized leadership with segment-based operations.
How many direct reports does Hormel Foods's CEO have?
The Interim CEO currently has five direct executive reports.
How has Hormel Foods's leadership changed recently?
The company transitioned to an interim CEO and CFO in 2025 following retirements and executive departures.
Does Hormel Foods have a COO?
No, Hormel does not currently have a Chief Operating Officer role.
Sources
- Form 8-K filed Oct 29, 2025
- DEF 14A filed Dec 17, 2025
- SEC EDGAR: Hormel Foods Corporation DEF 14A Proxy Statement
- SEC EDGAR: Hormel Foods Corporation 10-K Annual Report
Reference
Cite this page
If you reference this page in research, analysis, or news writing, use one of the formats below. Citation includes the SEC filing source where applicable.
APA 7th
Creately. (2026). Hormel Foods Corporation organizational structure. Creately. Retrieved , from https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/hormel-foods/MLA 9th
"Hormel Foods Corporation Organizational Structure." Creately, April 1, 2026, https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/hormel-foods/. Accessed .Chicago 17
Creately. "Hormel Foods Corporation Organizational Structure." Last modified April 1, 2026. https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/hormel-foods/.Original SEC source View on SEC ↗
Hormel Foods Corporation. DEF 14A. Filed 2025-12-17. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/48465/000004846525000074/hrl-20251216.htmPermanent URL: https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/hormel-foods/ · last updated 2026-04-01