CHICAGO (Reuters) - Tyson Foods Inc Chief Executive Dick Bond said on Monday that he was leaving the No. 1 U.S. meat company, effective immediately.
Bond's departure comes at a time when Tyson and other meat companies are struggling. In early 2008 they were hurt first by high feed prices and later in the year by slowing economies here and overseas, which have affected meat sales.
Leland Tollett, 71, who was chairman and CEO from 1995 to 1998, will return as president and CEO on an interim basis until a successor is chosen, the company said.
Tyson shares were down 49 cents, or 5.2 percent, at $8.86 in morning New York Stock Exchange trading, and have tumbled from a 52-week high of $19.50.
"After seven years of helping lead or leading the world's largest meat company, I have decided it is in both my best interest personally, and the best interest of the company for me to move on and pursue other interests," the 61-year-old Bond said in a statement.
Tyson's weak results for the fourth quarter that ended in September and an expected loss during for the quarter that ended in December, may have encouraged Bond's departure, said Ann Gilpin, an analyst at Morningstar.
"I think the board was not pleased with the management and I think they also were probably a little spooked about what happened with Pilgrim's Pride," Gilpin said. "I don't think this choice was unilaterally made by Dick Bond."
Pilgrim's Pride
(Additional reporting by Brad Dorfman; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Maureen Bavdek)
