Tyson Foods has named a new president for the Springdale-based company. Dean Banks was appointed by the Tyson board of directors to assume the role of president, effective Dec. 20, 2019.
Banks is taking over the role of president from current CEO and president Noel White, who will continue as CEO. Prior to his hiring, Banks was also an independent director on the Tyson board of directors, which he has served on since 2017. He will remain on the board as a non-independent director.
According to Tyson board chairman John Tyson, Banks was hired for the executive team to bring his extensive leadership experience and because the board believes that he will be a “strong cultural fit” for the company.
“I have gotten to know Dean well over the past several years, particularly during his two years on our board, where he has demonstrated that he is a thoughtful leader who respects and appreciates the historical Tyson Foods culture. As the board reflected on its talent acquisition and development pipeline, it became apparent, given Dean’s strong cultural fit with our organization and unique leadership experience and background in innovation and technology, that we could benefit from his distinctive abilities and personality on our enterprise leadership team,” Tyson said in a statement. “Dean brings a unique skillset and broad experience – including serving as a Marine, an entrepreneur, a start‐up investor, and a technologist – that will augment our next generation of leadership as it shapes the future of our company.”
As president, Banks will be charged with overseeing all of Tyson’s business division and will report to White.
Most recently, Banks served as a project lead for Alphabet Inc.’s research and development division, X. He also served as a managing partner for SEED Ventures, a consultant to Cleveland Clinic Innovations, CEO of Occelerator, SVP of Business Development and Strategic Marketing at OrthoHelix, co‐founder and CEO of Connective Orthopedics, and Vice President at Highland Capital Partners.
As of press time, Tyson Foods’ stock is hovering around $83.74 per share. Since Nov. 6, the stock has climbed roughly $1.80 in value. At the close of trading on Wednesday, Nov. 5, the stock was valued at $81. 93 per share.
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