Hormel brings back Jeff Ettinger as interim CEO for retiring Jim Snee

Two Hormel Foods executives — one current and one returning — are teaming up to lead the company once CEO and President Jim Snee steps down from the Spam-maker next month.

Former CEO Jeff Ettinger will return to the role on an interim basis starting July 14. Head of retail John Ghingo will take on the president title at the same time.

“This transition really is about building on what’s working,” Ghingo said. “We do have some good momentum and opportunity in the business, and we will continue to transform and modernize the organization for long-term success.”

Snee announced his retirement in January following nearly nine years leading the Austin, Minn.-based producer of pepperoni, Planters nuts, Skippy peanut butter and more. His somewhat unexpected transition — he officially retires at the end of October but will stay on as an advisor through 2027 — comes at a crucial time for Hormel.

The company is in the midst of a multi-year transformation to restore predictable growth. The packaged food industry overall is facing budget-conscious shoppers and a wave of younger consumers seeking both health benefits and bold flavors in their snacks and meals.

So the mix of past and forthcoming leaders to helm the company, at least in the short term, makes some sense. There’s also at least one other Minnesota Fortune 500 that has recently brought back an old CEO: UnitedHealth Group re-installed Stephen Hemsley, who led the state’s largest company from 2006-17, for the full-time gig in May when Andrew Witty abdicated.

Ettinger was Hormel’s CEO from 2005-16 and has since run for Congress in 2022 and served as interim president of the University of Minnesota in 2023-24. Most recently, the 66-year-old chair of the nonprofit Hormel Foundation earned a spot on Hormel’s board of directors and even served on the search committee for the job he’s temporarily occupying (he said the board approached him with the offer).

Ettinger’s job will last through October 2026, when the board will hire a permanent CEO to lead the $12 billion company — likely Ghingo.

“John is the future,” Ettinger said. “When a person becomes the president, you could argue it’s theirs to lose, but I would have every expectation that’s what would occur.”

Ghingo is a relative outsider compared to the long tenures of many previous Hormel leaders. The 52-year-old was president of Hormel-owned Applegate Farms from 2018-22 and has led the retail division since just last fall.

The Notre Dame and New York University grad had been on a career-long tour of nearly every corner of the food industry: Employee for 15 years at Oreo-maker Mondelez International; president of plant-based foods and beverages at WhiteWave, maker of Silk and So Delicious; and CEO of cheese-based chips company Whisps.

The board elevating his resume points to Hormel’s continued shift away from commodity meat sales into more branded foods.

“My lens, coming in with some additional external experience, will bring some new ways of thinking, new ways of looking at the business, some new insights, some new approaches,” Ghingo said. “But that will all be very much grounded in the understanding of what makes Hormel so distinct.”

As president, Ghingo will oversee Hormel’s three core business groups: retail, food service and international, in addition to strategy, supply chain and R&D. Ettinger will handle more of the corporate functions during his 15-month stint, including finance, human resources and compliance.

“We are confident that Jeff’s valuable experience with the public markets and investment community, as well as his deep understanding of our culture, will complement John’s expertise with consumer-relevant innovation, brand building and strategy in today’s dynamic food industry,” Hormel board chair Bill Newlands said in a statement.

Ettinger said he’s looking forward to having a partner “to bounce things off of and share that leadership role with” this time around and warned it can be lonely “once you’re in it by yourself.”

Sharing that kind of insight with Ghingo is another focus for Ettinger.

“My additional job would be to mentor John in the public aspects of the job that he’s now walking into as the president,” he said, “including interactions with the board and the Austin community.”

Despite collaborating on a job currently meant for one, neither were worried about tension nor confusion in the dual-leader scenario.

“I see us operating as a true partnership,” Ghingo said. “Our roles here are designed to be very complementary.”