Former Tyson chief joins Ocean Spray Cranberries as president, CEO

Ocean Spray Cranberries has announced that its board of directors has unanimously elected Tom Hayes as the cooperative’s next president and chief executive officer.

Hayes is the former president and CEO of Tyson Foods, the largest food company in the United States with $40 billion in sales and 122,000 employees. At Tyson, Hayes introduced a new corporate brand, purpose, global growth strategy, and approach to sustainability. He earned a BA from the University of New Hampshire and an MBA from Northwestern University. Before leading Tyson, Hayes was the chief supply chain officer at Hillshire Brands and Sara Lee. He has also held significant leadership roles at US Foods, ConAgra, and Kraft.

“Ocean Spray is a unique company—one that asks its leaders to speak the language of consumers, farmers, grocers, bankers, manufacturers, and employees all at once,” said Peter Dhillon, chairman of the Ocean Spray Board of Directors. “In Tom Hayes, we believe we have found a leader who can speak to all of these audiences and continue the transformation of this cooperative. Tom’s expertise in supply chain management, his understanding of agriculture and the challenges faced by growers, and his decades of experience in the consumer packaged goods industry make him ideally suited to lead Ocean Spray into its second century.”