BURTON, South Australia – Inghams Group Ltd. announced Jim Leighton, former president of Perdue Foods, will be the company’s managing director and CEO.

Leighton is a food industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience with major food companies. He served as president of Perdue Foods for 7 years. Before joining Perdue, Leighton spent 9 years at ConAgra. He also was Chief Operating Officer, Interim CEO and board member at Boulder Brands from 2013 to 2016. Most recently, Leighton was president of Boulder, Colorado-based 40 North Foods, a company he founded. Additionally, Leighton is a member of the board of directors of Aryzta, a global specialty baking business with offices in Dublin, Ireland and Zurich, Switzerland.

Leighton earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Industrial Relations from the Univ. of Iowa and a master’s in business administration, Business and Leadership from the Keller Graduate School of Management at Northwestern Univ.

He replaces Mick McMahon, who will be available until the end of the calendar year to assist with the leadership transition.