Felicia Collins

SPRINGDALE, Ark. – Felicia Collins recently was named vice president of corporate communications at Tyson Foods, Inc., where she will lead the company’s public relations, social media and internal communications teams.

Collins joins Tyson from ingredient producer Ventura Foods where she served as chief communications officer/vice president of communications.

Collins is a 25-year veteran in communications. Before joining Ventura Foods, she spend five years with Edelman, a global communications marketing firm, as group lead for food and nutrition in Washington, DC. She also was senior vice president of food and nutrition in Edelman’s Chicago office, where she led the agency’s Walmart food business and the creation and launch of the “Making Healthy Food Affordable” platform with First Lady Michelle Obama.

“Felicia’s experience working across the food industry, combined with her passion for developing talent, is the absolute right fit for Tyson Foods,” Sara Lilygren, executive vice president of corporate affairs, said in a statement. “We’re excited about the innovative thinking she will bring to our business and are confident that our teams will benefit and grow under her leadership.”

Tyson Foods also announced the promotion of Rodney Edwards to senior vice president, operations finance and accounting for poultry, supply chain and prepared foods manufacturing.

Rodney Edwards

Edwards, who has been with the company for 40 years, has held various accounting positions, including vice president, operations accounting for poultry/prepared foods, consumer products controller and prepared foods controller.

He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from the Univ. of Mississippi in Oxford, and a Master of Business Administration from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi.

“We believe Rodney’s leadership in operations accounting, along with his many years of experience with the company, will help our poultry and prepared foods business units drive better performance and deliver higher returns,” said Dennis Leatherby, executive vice president and CFO for Tyson Foods.