SMITHFIELD, VA. – Shane Smith has been promoted to president and chief executive officer of Smithfield Foods Inc. He succeeds Dennis Organ, who is stepping down for personal reasons.

Smith has been with Smithfield since 2003, most recently as chief strategy officer since November 2020, where he helped develop, execute and sustain the company's efforts to achieve growth through its own resources, as well as through mergers and acquisitions. He oversaw the company’s hog farming operations, as well as Smithfield Renewables, the platform that unifies Smithfield’s carbon reduction initiatives.

Earlier, he was executive vice president of European operations.  In this capacity, he spent much of the last decade in Europe, overseeing the company's operations, capital investments, expansion into new markets, and mergers and acquisitions abroad. Smith's extensive experience with both Smithfield's European and US businesses is expected to aid the company in further establishing more robust and strategic global collaboration to franchise best practices across the company's expansive footprint.

Additional roles he has held at Smithfield include president of Smithfield Romania, chief financial officer of European operations, international controller, director of financial reporting and financial analyst.

He received a bachelor’s degree in accounting at the University of Mount Olive and a master’s degree in business administration at William & Mary – Raymond A. Mason School of Business.

“I am honored to serve as Smithfield's next president and CEO and lead an incredible team of more than 63,000 people who all work together to provide families worldwide with wholesome, safe and affordable food,” Smith said. “At Smithfield, ‘Good food. Responsibly.’ is more than something we say. It's how we approach our work and what we carry out through our mission to produce good food the right way with respect for our people, animals, communities and planet. Together with our talented leadership team, I look forward to furthering our long-term vision that has made us one of the world's leading consumer packaged protein companies, creating value for a broad range of stakeholders.”

Organ was named as Kenneth Sullivan’s successor as president and CEO in October 2020. Organ previously was chief operating officer of US operations for Smithfield Foods, a position he had held since 2019, after the launch of the company’s “One Smithfield” campaign and leadership realignment.