James N. Sheehan
Vice President and Controller
As Vice President and Controller at Hormel Foods, James N. Sheehan is responsible for financial policies, internal controls, Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 compliance and financial reporting as well as the general accounting, cost and business unit accounting functions of the company. Notably, he led the successful sale of Vista International Packaging and Algona Food Equipment Company.
An employee of Hormel Foods for more than 30 years, Sheehan started as an accountant in the Fremont (Neb.) Plant and quickly was promoted to manager of data processing. He advanced to other positions including manager of general accounting, office manager at several locations and controller of Vista International Packaging. Since 1988, Sheehan has held positions at the Corporate Office (Austin, Minn.), including corporate credit manager for claims and Hormel Financial Services. In 1998, he became president of Hormel Financial Services where he was instrumental in developing and implementing Hormel Financial Services functions and several financial systems. Prior to being named to his current position, Sheehan was treasurer at Hormel Foods.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Missouri Western State University (St. Joseph, Mo.), and is a graduate of the Minnesota Executive Program at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.). Sheehan is involved in the Financial Executive Institute and the Institute of Management Accountants. He also serves on the Gelco Expense Management advisory board.
In addition to his professional involvement, Sheehan is an active member of the community as the treasurer of both the Austin Area Catholic School Foundation and the Austin Country Club. He is also a former board member of the Mower County Red Cross, the Mower County United Way and the Austin Public Library.