Hormel CFO Sheehan to retire, will be succeeded by Smiley

Hormel Foods Corp. on Friday announced the retirement of Chief Financial Officer Jim Sheehan, who spent 43 years with the food maker.

Jacinth Smiley, who joined Austin, Minn.-based Hormel in March as group vice president of corporate strategy, will succeed Sheehan.

"As we planned for this transition, we actively sought someone with Jacinth's skills, experience and commitment to our strong company culture. She is an impressive strategic and financial executive with deep and broad experience in corporate finance, public accounting and compliance," Jim Snee, Hormel's chief executive, said in a statement.

Before joining Hormel, Smiley was vice president and chief accounting officer for LyondellBasell, one of the world's largest plastics and chemicals companies. She previously spent two decades at General Electric in various senior positions, including chief financial officer for GE Oil and Gas North America.

Earlier in her career, Smiley spent time at Arthur Andersen and United Technologies in roles across three continents.

Sheehan, known as a meticulous manager of Hormel's finances, leaves just after helming the $3.4-billion Planters acquisition, by far the company's largest in its 130-year history.

"I believe his biggest business contribution was his unending quest to get our entire organization to always think, analyze and assess in a 360-degree manner so we fully understood all implications and identified blind spots," Snee told the Star Tribune in an e-mail. "Jim was an uncommon CFO and our company is better because of him."