Smith participated in a CEO panel discussion called "Making Long-Term Decisions in a Short-Term World" hosted by The Executives' Club of Chicago. Panelists gave insights on long-term value creation, investing and regulatory practices, in addition to personal best practices on time management and balancing priorities.
Speaking about short-term thinking versus long-term challenges, Smith said in food and agriculture a lot of time is spent balancing short and long-term matters.
“We’ve got to put dinner on the table at night, but we’ve also got to invest in the technology…to produce twice as much food in the next 40 years to feed a growing population, and do that globally,” he said.
The challenge of meeting demand for protein on a global scale was a common theme in interviews with Smith. Commenting on the recent proposed buyout of Smithfield Foods, Inc., Smith said the deal is indicative of the intensifying globalization of agriculture. TheWall street Journalquoted Smith as saying the deal would have no immediate impact on Tyson's acquisition plans or expansion strategies in China.
