Hormel Foods Corporation elected three new members to its board of directors, effective July 28. Elected were Gary Bhojwani, chairman of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America; Sally Smith, president and CEO of Buffalo Wild Wings Inc.; and Steven White, president, Comcast West Division.
Bhojwani, 46, is also a member of the Board of Management of Allianz SE with responsibility for Insurance in the US. He is responsible for overseeing both Allianz Life and Fireman's Fund Insurance Company. Bhojwani joined Allianz Life in 2007 as president and CEO and drove a considerable increase in operating profit while significantly improving employee morale, resulting in top workplace awards in 2010 and 2011. He also serves as a director on the boards of the US Chamber of Commerce, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Teach for America Twin Cities, the American Council of Life Insurers, and the Financial Services Roundtable. He is also an active member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO).
Smith, 56, leads one of the nation's fastest-growing national restaurant chains, which includes more than 1,030 restaurants in the US, Canada and Mexico with system-wide revenue of more than $ 2.8 billion. Over the past 10 years, her company has achieved compounded annual revenue growth of 26 percent and compounded annual net income growth of more than 35 percent. Smith served as the 2011 chairman of the National Restaurant Association Board of Directors. She is also a director of Alerus Financial Corporation, Allina Health System and is also a member of World Presidents Organization and Women Corporate Directors.
Meanwhile, White, 53, is the senior executive responsible for all Comcast cable operations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Texas and Wisconsin. He leads approximately 28,000 employees and serves more than seven-million customers, driving annual revenue of nearly $13 billion. He serves on the board of directors of the Comcast Foundation, COMPAC, WICT Northern California and Denver Scholarship Foundation. He also serves as a member of the Executive Leadership Council (ELC), Delta Boule’ and Colorado Forum.
“We welcome Gary, Sally and Steve to our board and look forward to their valuable input and contributions to the growth and success of Hormel Foods,” said Jeffrey Ettinger, chairman of the board, president and CEO of Hormel Foods.
