WASHINGTON – During the National Chicken Council’s (NCC) 69th annual conference in Washington, the group announced that it named four officers chosen to guide the organization throughout 2025. 

NCC confirmed that Bill Griffith, chief operations officer for Peco Foods, will serve as the 2024-25 chairman.

Griffith brings more than 25 years of management experience in the food industry and is known for a strong reputation for innovation, sustainability and quality. Before working at Peco, Griffith served as president of Keystone Foods US from 2016 to 2019. He also worked as vice president of global food safety and quality assurance and vice president of food safety and quality assurance at Keystone. 

Along with nine years working at Keystone, Griffith spent time at Perdue Foods overseeing food safety, quality and regulatory compliance. Before Perdue, he worked at Tyson Foods as a microbiologist and developed a global reputation as an innovator in food safety technology. He holds two degrees from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University: a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry.

NCC elected David Jackson, COO of Simmons Foods, Simmons Prepared Foods, Simmons Pet Food and Simmons Animal Nutrition, as the vice chairman. Jackson joined Simmons in 1991 and spent more than 33 years in poultry and pet food operations. Before his current position, Jackson worked as president and COO of Simmons’ poultry operations. From 2014 to 2016, he worked as president and COO of Simmons Pet Foods. From 2012 to 2014, he worked as president of Simmons’ wet pet food division. Before that, starting in 2007, he worked as president of Simmons Prepared Foods. 

Jackson earned a bachelor’s degree in administrative management from the University of Arkansas and a master’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin.

A new addition to the officer corps at NCC was Kevin McDaniel, COO for Wayne-Sanderson Farms, who was named secretary-treasurer for NCC. Before the acquisition, McDaniel worked as senior vice president and general manager of the fresh business unit and helped in the role of COO at Wayne Farms. He’s also been president of Aviagen North America and other positions at OK Foods and Pilgrim’s Pride Corp.

McDaniel earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from Stephen F. Austin State University. He currently sits on the board of other associations, including the US Poultry & Egg Association and Southern Hens, and previously held several key positions with the Poultry Federation.

Along with the new officers, Gary Kushner remains interim president of NCC.

“I want to commend and thank immediate past chairman Randy Day for his guidance and outstanding service to NCC and to the industry this past year,” Kushner said. “Now he can get on to his real retirement. The next 12 months will be a year full of challenges and opportunities for NCC, as issues like increased government regulations, avian influenza and food safety, to name a few, become more prominent. I know NCC will lean on the extensive experience and vast knowledge of Bill, David and Kevin to guide our organization in the coming year.”