CEO of chicken producer Pilgrim's Pride resigns

PITTSBURG, Texas — Pilgrim's Pride Corp., which recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, said Tuesday its President and Chief Executive Clint Rivers has resigned.

The chicken producer said Rivers will be succeeded by Don Jackson, subject to approval of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas. Jackson, who will join the company immediately on an interim basis, was president of Foster Farms' poultry division, a poultry producer on the West Coast.

Pilgrim's Pride also said Jackson would also assume the duties of Robert A. Wright, chief operating officer, who also resigned Tuesday.

The company's board appointed Lonnie Ken Pilgrim, its current chairman, as interim president until the bankruptcy court approves Jackson's employment.

A statement from the company said Jackson will give the company fresh perspective as it undertakes a restructuring.

The nation's largest chicken producer, saddled by debt and volatile commodity costs, filed for bankruptcy protection on Dec. 1.

Jackson comes to Pilgrim's Pride from Livingston, Calif.-based Foster Farms' poultry division, where he has served as president since 2000. Before that he was executive vice president for foodservice of the former ConAgra Poultry Co. in Duluth, Ga.

He also worked for 22 years for Seaboard Farms, based in Athens, Ga., and was president and CEO of their poultry division for four years.

Lonnie "Bo" Pilgrim, senior chairman of Pilgrim's Pride, said in a statement the company felt it would benefit from fresh perspective "on the opportunities available to us through restructuring."

___

Dec 16, 2008 - 08:51 p.m. EDT

Copyright 2008, The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.