Corporate Governance

At Hormel Foods, our Board of Directors oversees all company activities and assumes the ultimate responsibility of ensuring that company performance is based on strong ethical practices and is aligned with our Code of Ethical Business Conduct. The board currently consists of 13 members, 12 of whom are independent.

Jim Snee serves as chairman of our board. The board has adopted the Hormel Foods Corporate Governance Guidelines, which outline key corporate governance principles. The board has established three committees – Audit, Compensation and Governance. Additional information about our board structure can be found in our 2021 Proxy Statement.

Corporate Responsibility Governance

The Hormel Foods Corporate Responsibility (CR) Steering Committee is comprised of company executives. The group’s role is to provide direction and approval for the company’s environmental, social and governance activities. The chair of the committee reports directly to our chief executive officer.

In addition, the Governance Committee of our Board of Directors has oversight of our sustainability, environmental and corporate social responsibility activities.

Our Governing Principles

Each year at our Annual Meeting, Hormel Foods stockholders elect the members of our Board of Directors. The Governance Committee of the Board of Directors is responsible for identifying and recommending individuals qualified to become members of the board; overseeing succession planning for the corporation’s chief executive officer; ensuring personnel resources are being managed responsibly and effectively; and developing and recommending to the Board of Directors a set of corporate governance principles applicable to the company.

Board Independence and Evaluation

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listing standards require that a majority of the company’s directors be independent and that the Audit, Compensation and Governance committees be comprised entirely of independent directors.

To operate in accordance with the NYSE listing standards, the board has created and employed standards to assist in making the annual determination of each director’s independence status (view the Director Independence Standards).

In addition to policies outlined in the Hormel Foods Code of Ethical Business Conduct regarding conflicts of interest, we require that our board members submit a letter of resignation if they partake in any action that creates a conflict of interest with the company.

There is an annual self-evaluation of individual committees, and the board conducts its own self-evaluation. Stock ownership guidelines help to ensure that the interests of directors and executives are aligned with the interests of the stockholders.

Open Communication with Stakeholders

In addition to seeking feedback from our stakeholders about our global impact report each year, we also offer interested parties the opportunity to communicate with the board by sending a letter directed to the board, non-employee directors or specified individual directors, addressed to: Brian D. Johnson, Vice President and Corporate Secretary, 1 Hormel Place, Austin, MN 55912. All communications, whether signed or anonymous, will be directed to the lead director or the chair of one of the committees based on the subject matter of the communication, or to the non-employee directors or the specified directors, if so addressed. This information can be found in the 2021 Proxy Statement.