AUSTIN, Minn. – Hormel Foods Corp. announced the upcoming retirement of Jim Splinter, group vice president of corporate strategy, after a 36-year career with the company.

Splinter worked with the Grocery Products division and held executive positions with the Refrigerated Foods and Jennie-O Turkey Store divisions.

“Jim has had an outstanding 36-year career with Hormel Foods,” said Jim Snee, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of Hormel Foods. “Jim’s brand-building expertise, combined with his innovative and strategic mindset, has helped us build a winning portfolio of new and emerging brands and positioning us to capitalize on new growth spaces for years to come. His leadership of the company’s strategy group resulted in the creation of first-of-its kind innovations, industry-leading acquisitions and the creation of a new e-commerce model within our company.”

In his recent capacity, Splinter led corporate strategy for Hormel Foods, including corporate innovation, digital experience, communications and corporate development.

During his time in this position, Splinter helped form its digital and e-commerce center of excellence and its agile and incubator centers, resulting in the successful introduction of Happy Little Plants brand, a plant-based protein product line currently in retail locations throughout the United States.

Splinter joined the company in 1984 as a product manager for the company’s former Dubuque Foods business. He was promoted into product management and ultimately moved into marketing, where built brand-building expertise by working on Hormel Foods staples such as Hormel pepperoni and the SPAM family of products.

In 1999, Splinter became senior vice president of sales and marketing for the retail division at Jennie-O Turkey Store, where he oversaw the Jennie-O Turkey Store brand.

In 2003, he assumed the role of vice president of marketing for consumer products, Refrigerated Foods. He was promoted to group vice president of Grocery Products in 2010. He assumed his current role in October 2016.