AUSTIN, Minn. — Patrick J. Schwab and Jeffrey R. Baker have been named to new positions at Hormel Foods Corp. following the upcoming retirements of Douglas R. Reetz and Dennis B. Goettsch. The changes will take effect Oct. 29.

Schwab, director of fresh meats and margin optimization, has been tapped to succeed Reetz as vice-president of Hormel Foods and senior vice-president of consumer products sales.

Schwab joined Hormel in 1986, and held several sales positions in Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Buffalo, NY, before becoming national sales manager of pork primals at the corporate office in Austin, Minn., in 1993. He was promoted to corporate manager of fresh pork sales, planning and logistics in 2000 and to director of fresh meat sales in 2004. He has held his current role of director of fresh meats and margin optimization since 2009.

Baker, director of marketing for food service, will replace Goettsch in the position of vice-president of marketing for food service.

Baker joined Hormel Foods in sales in Dubuque, Iowa, in 1990. After holding product manager positions for canned meats and sausage, he became the meat products district manager in Buffalo in 2001.

In 2002, he was promoted to senior product manager, meat products, and became the group product manager for meat products three years later. He advanced to director of fresh meats marketing and Precept Foods in 2009, and was promoted to his most recent role as director of marketing, food service in 2012.