Over our long and rich history, Tyson Foods has worked hard to create a culture of fairness, inclusion and diversity, because we believe that our diversity is one of our greatest strengths. We believe our team members learn from, understand and ultimately grow from our inherent racial, cultural, religious and gender differences. But it is clear that promoting a diverse and inclusive work environment is not enough. What will it take to eradicate racism and social injustice from our beloved country? I do not know. However, at such a critical time, on such a critical issue, Tyson Foods is committing to further action. 

We believe deeply in our country’s founding principle that all people have certain Unalienable Rights and deserve equal protection. But as we know today, in the aftermath of the senseless and horrific killing of George Floyd and so many before him, this has not been the actual experience of everyone in this country. Each time we witness a tragic injustice, it reminds us that our country, our values and our beliefs are threatened by those who fail to grasp that they are attacking all of us each time they treat anyone with less respect because they are different.

The actions listed below are not exhaustive but reflect some of the many steps in our efforts to reaffirm and reinforce our core values as well as support our country and our team members as we work to drive real, lasting change for our society.

  • We will implement a silence across all our U.S. facilities for 8 minutes and 46 seconds on June 9 to mark the funeral for George Floyd.
  • We have a track record of charitable giving in the communities where we live and work. We will supplement this with gifts to several worthy organizations, through corporate donations totaling $5 million to be shared over a course of three years:

We commit to those who have suffered to never forget them and to do our part to prevent these situations from reoccurring. To our Tyson team members, we commit to listen and take positive actions to address what we learn. To America, we commit to work with you to be the change that our country deserves.

Author
Executive Vice Chairman at

Noel White was named president and CEO and a board member in 2018. He remained CEO until October 2020, when he became executive vice chair of the board.

Throughout his career, Noel has remained committed to growing Tyson Foods by focusing on value-added foods and international expansion. He believes doing good is good business and he is passionate about both sustainability and investing in people.

Noel brings more than 37 years of experience with Tyson Foods and its predecessor companies (including IBP, inc.). Prior to his role as CEO, Noel served as group president of Tyson’s Fresh Meats business unit. He previously worked in numerous sales, management, and company officer positions including chief operations officer, president of poultry, senior group vice president of fresh meats, senior vice president for fresh meat sales and marketing, and senior vice president, pork product management.

A native of Des Moines, Iowa, Noel is a graduate of Bemidji State University in Bemidji, Minnesota. He received a Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in economics from Oklahoma City University.