Hormel Foods Corporation, a global branded food company, announced the upcoming retirement of Jim Splinter, group vice president, corporate strategy. Splinter's long tenure with the company includes leading the company's successful grocery products division and holding executive positions with the refrigerated foods and Jennie-O Turkey Store divisions. Most recently, Splinter led corporate strategy for Hormel Foods, including corporate innovation, digital experience, communications and corporate development, including leading the M&A pipeline, which resulted in several important acquisitions over the last few years. Under his leadership, Hormel Foods formed its digital and e-commerce center of excellence and its agile and incubator centers, resulting in the successful introduction of Happy Little Plants® brand, a plant-based protein product line currently in retail locations throughout the United States.
 
Splinter joined the company in 1984 as a product manager for the company's former Dubuque Foods business. He was promoted into product management and ultimately moved into marketing, where he honed his brand-building expertise by working on Hormel Foods staples such as Hormel® pepperoni and the SPAM® family of products.
 
In 1999, Splinter became senior vice president of sales and marketing for the retail division at Jennie-O Turkey Store, where he oversaw the Jennie-O® brand and The Turkey Store™ brand. In 2003, he assumed the role of vice president of marketing for consumer products, refrigerated foods. He was promoted to group vice president of grocery products in 2010, successfully leading the segment to achieve strong growth, both organically and through acquisitions such as Wholly® Guacamole dips, SKIPPY® peanut butter and Justin's® nut butters. He assumed his current role in October 2016.
 
Splinter has been active in the CPG and food industry, and supports numerous community organizations and causes. Splinter most recently led the development of a new multimillion-dollar community recreation center that recently opened in Austin, Minn. A native of Dubuque, Iowa, Splinter graduated from Loras College with a bachelor of arts degree in business and is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management Executive Program in Minneapolis.

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