AUSTIN, Minn. – William “Bill” Burke, Jr. president of Nevada, Iowa-based Burke Marketing Corp., will retire from the company, Hormel Foods Corp. announced on April 16.

Hormel Foods acquired Burke Marketing Corp. in 2007. The company manufactures and markets pizza toppings and other fully cooked meat products for the foodservice and prepared foods industry. Product lines include traditional pizza meat toppings, meatballs, Mexican meat fillings and breakfast meats.
Burke has held a variety of roles for Burke Marketing Corp. during a career that has spanned 39 years. Burke’s father, Bill Burke, Sr., founded the company. After graduating from college, Burke Jr. worked in sales where he was challenged with growing the company’s sales and customer base. In 1986, he was promoted to sales and general manager and in 1991 was named president. Burke Marketing Corp. has grown fivefold under his leadership, according to Hormel.

“Bill has played an integral role in building Burke Marketing Corp. into the industry leader it is today,” said Mark A. Coffey, vice president of affiliated business units, Refrigerated Foods. “His passion and never-ending desire to serve our customers have been critical to our success.” “We thank Bill for his leadership of the company and wish him and his wife Sue the very best in retirement.”

David Weber, Hormel Foods foodservice southeast regional sales manager, has been named as his replacement. Weber began his career with Hormel Foods in 1992 as a foodservice sales representative and became a foodservice territory manager later that year.

Weber advanced to foodservice account manager in 1995, and then transferred to the corporate office in Austin, Minn. two years later as a foodservice associate product manager. Weber advanced to foodservice product manager in 1999, and to foodservice corporate national accounts manager in 2001. He returned to the field in 2004 as a foodservice area manager and has held his current role of foodservice southeast regional sales manager since 2006.