Smithfield Foods CEO and leadership

Nunziata joined Smithfield Foods in his current position in October 2015. He spent the previous 19 years at Ernst & Young, most recently as a partner in Assurance Services. Mr. Nunziata has extensive experience serving multinational companies as well as in matters pertaining to internal controls, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and capital market transactions.

Named the Chief Administrative Officer in 2020, Keira leads Smithfield’s administrative operations, including corporate communications, external affairs, government affairs, human resources, investor relations, legal and sustainability functions. Keira is responsible for enhancing Smithfield's reputation and brand and creating internal strategic alignment among its 59,000 global team members. Her duties include forging strong and lasting relationships with the company’s stakeholders.Smithfield’s principal spokesperson with various internal and external stakeholders, Keira is responsible for developing, communicating, and executing a number of strategic initiatives as well. Among them is the company’s acclaimed sustainability program. She also serves as a liaison with the investors of WH Group, Smithfield’s publicly traded parent company, and as chair of the company’s Charitable Initiatives Committee, which directs its philanthropic activities.Keira is a longtime champion of Smithfield, having joined the company in 2002 as a corporate finance assistant and working in a number of capacities for the company, including executive vice president, corporate affairs and compliance; senior vice president, corporate affairs; and vice president, investor relations and corporate communications.Keira serves on the boards of several industry organizations, including The National Association of Manufacturers and The North American Meat Institute. She is also a board member of An Achievable Dream, which works to level the playing field for students in under-served communities. A proud New Jersey native, Keira graduated from Rutgers University with degrees in economics and finance.

Russ Dokken is a Chief Sales Officer at SMITHFIELD FOODS INC. He has worked as Exec VP:US Packaged Meats at SMITHFIELD FOODS INC.

Dr. Thamodaran has 30 years of industry experience and joined Smithfield Foods as director of price risk management in 1995. Named chief strategy officer in 2016, he has served in his other current roles since 2011. Prior to joining Smithfield, Dr. Thamodaran spent 10 years at former independent operating companies John Morrell & Co. and Farmland Industries. He holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Iowa State University.

Michael Cole joined Smithfield Foods as corporate counsel in 1996. He became associate general counsel and secretary in 1999 and vice president, deputy general counsel, and secretary in 2003. He assumed the role of chief legal officer in 2006. Prior to joining Smithfield, Mr. Cole was an associate in the law firm of McGuireWoods LLP.

Stewart Leeth serves as vice president of regulatory affairs and chief sustainability officer for Smithfield Foods, Inc. In this role, Leeth leads company-wide regulatory initiatives and directs the company’s sustainability program. This program focuses on animal welfare, employee relations, environmental stewardship, food safety and quality, and community development. He is also responsible for legal affairs for Smithfield’s hog production division and serves as vice president of the Smithfield Foundation.Leeth originally joined Smithfield Foods in 2008 and has worked in several capacities for the company. Most recently he served vice president of regulatory affairs and sustainability. He also held the position of assistant vice president of environmental and corporate affairs and senior counsel.Prior to joining Smithfield Foods, Leeth was a partner at the Virginia law firm of McGuireWoods, where he represented the firm’s clients before federal and state courts and agencies in matters involving major federal and state environmental statutes, water rights disputes, cost recovery and contaminated property litigation, rulemaking, and permitting. He also focused on state and local government matters and land use disputes. Leeth formerly served as Assistant Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Virginia, representing a variety of state agencies and also served as a law clerk to Judge Claude Hilton of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Leeth is a graduate of the University of Richmond School of Law and earned a bachelor of arts degree in international studies from the University of Richmond.

William Brunt was appointed to his current position in 2016 and is responsible for innovation efforts enterprise-wide. He joined Smithfield Foods in 2011 as vice president of marketing and became senior vice president of marketing in 2014. Prior to Smithfield, Mr. Brunt spent over 20 years marketing consumer packaged goods with both manufacturers and agencies. He came to Smithfield from DDB Worldwide.