Richard Carlson is vice president of quality management for Hormel Foods and is responsible for overseeing company quality, plant regulatory and food safety activities.
In 1990, Carlson began his career with Hormel Foods as quality and process control engineer at the Austin Plant. He has held quality assurance and production management positions at the Stockton (Calif.) Plant, Owatonna (Minn.) facility and at Jennie-O Turkey Store Willmar, Minn. In 2000, he was named director of quality assurance at Jennie-O Turkey Store and assumed the position of vice president of quality management at Jennie-O Turkey Store in 2010. He moved to the Corporate Office in Austin, Minn., and became vice president of quality management at Hormel Foods in 2014.
Carlson graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Food Science. He and his wife Laura have two daughters, are active in their church and live in Austin, Minn.