WASHINGTON, D.C. – Todd Simmons, Chief Executive Officer of Simmons Foods in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, was installed as 2015-2016 chairman of the National Chicken Council (NCC) during NCC’s 61st Annual Conference held today in Washington, D.C.
He began working at Simmons in 1990 and joined the management team in 1994 following graduation from Georgetown University. A third generation leader of the company, Todd was most recently promoted to Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman in December of 2012, after having served as Chief Operating Officer of both the Poultry and Pet Food divisions for the previous six years.
After recently celebrating 25 years at Simmons Foods, Todd was named “Industry Leader of the Year” by The Poultry Federation in 2015.
He also serves on the Executive Committee and Board of the Pet Food Institute. Todd and his wife Shelley live in Siloam Springs, Arkansas with their daughter Caroline and son Charlie.
Serving as vice chairman for 2015-2016 is Mike Popowycz, vice chairman and chief financial officer at Case Foods, headquartered in Troutman, North Carolina.
Popowycz joined the Ohio Division of Case Foods in 1987 as Corporate Controller, was promoted to Corporate Treasurer of Case Foods in 1990, was promoted to Chief Financial Officer in 1992, and was promoted to Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer in February 2012.
Popowycz was elected to the Case Foods Board of Directors in 2005 and to the National Chicken Council Board of Directors in June 2012. Prior to joining the Ohio Division, Mr. Popowycz spent two years with Bell Atlantic Corporation and seven years with Perdue Farms Incorporated serving in various accounting and tax positions. He received a B.A. in Accounting from Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Mike and his wife Laurie live in Mooresville, North Carolina. They have three grown children.
New to the officer corps, Ben Harrison, president and chief executive officer of Amick Farms, LLC., in Batesburg, South Carolina and Hurlock, Maryland takes over as Secretary-Treasurer.
Harrison received his degree in Financial Management in 1990 from Clemson University and worked for Ernst and Young as a junior auditor before joining Amick Farms. He has been employed at Amick Farms since 1991, working in various capacities throughout the company until he became president in 2004.
Ben is active in the poultry industry and agricultural associations, currently serves on the National Chicken Council Board of Directors and the U.S. Poultry & Egg Board of Directors. He also served on the local school board from 2000 – 2012.
Ben, his wife, Holly, and their three children, Reid, Ali and Dillon, reside in Batesburg, South Carolina.
Officers serve one-year terms.
In addition to the three new officers, Mike Brown, of Vienna, Virginia, was elected to a fourth term as president of NCC.
“I want to personally thank Immediate Past Chairman Jerry Lane for his strong commitment and for the leadership he displayed as NCC Chairman this past year, and for his dedication to our industry for more than 40 years,” noted Brown. “His experience has been invaluable.
“I look forward to leaning on the extensive experience and vast knowledge of Todd, Mike and Ben to guide our organization in the coming year.”
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The National Chicken Council is a non-profit trade association headquartered in Washington, D.C. that represents chicken producer-processors, the companies that produce and process chickens raised for meat. Member companies of the council account for more than 95 percent of the chicken sold in the United States.
