Tyson Foods has appointed Sarah Bond, CEO of Xbox and a Microsoft executive, to its board of directors, effective immediately, the Springdale-based global company announced Thursday (Aug. 7).
“Sarah is dynamic and passionate, with proven management strength, and her energy and personality are a wonderful fit for our culture,” Board Chairman John H. Tyson said in a statement. “As our management team, members of the board and the Tyson family got to know Sarah, we immediately felt that she would be a tremendous addition to Tyson Foods. We are confident that her unique expertise will help us continue to grow and serve our customers, our team members, and our shareholders.”
Bond, 46, leads innovation and growth of the Xbox gaming business, which is part of Microsoft’s global $23 billion gaming segment. Bond joined Microsoft in 2017 and also held leadership roles at T-Mobile and McKinsey & Company. She has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Yale University and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School.
“Tyson Foods is a world-class food company with iconic brands, and I am delighted to join the board and support the company as it continues to execute its long-term growth strategy with customers and consumers,” said Bond.
Bond expands the board number to 16 directors, 10 of whom are deemed independent. Others serving on Tyson board are chairman Tyson, Les Baledge, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe, Maria Claudia Torres, David Bronczek, Donnie King, Maria Martinez, Kevin McNamara, Cheryl Miller, Kate Quinn, Jeffery Schomburger, Barbara Tyson, John R. Tyson, Olivia Tyson ,and Noel White.
Non-executive director compensation in the recent fiscal year ranged between $157,000 and $533,000.
Also on Thursday, the Tyson board of directors declared a quarterly dividend for shareholders. Under Tyson’s dual class share system, the publicly traded class A common shareholders will receive 50 cents per share. Class B shares are restricted and held in trust by the Tyson family and will receive 45 cents per share. The dividend yield is 3.57% at current market prices.
The cash dividend is payable on Dec. 15 for shareholders of record as of Dec. 1. Tyson has maintained dividend payments for 51 years, with 11 consecutive years of dividend increases.
The meat giant also reported that 43 million additional shares were authorized for repurchase under the company’s share repurchase program. This increases the total available for repurchase to 50 million.
Tyson Foods shares (NYSE: TSN) closed Thursday at $56.34, up 27 cents on the day. Over the past 52 weeks, the share price has traded between $51.85 and $66.88.