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Hormel Foods Corporation, a global branded food company, announced Wednesday the appointment of Jacinth Smiley as group vice president of corporate strategy. Smiley will report to Jim Snee, chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of Hormel Foods.

In this role, Smiley will be responsible for leading the development and execution of the company’s growth and investment strategies, enabling its acceleration as a global branded food company. Smiley replaces Jim Splinter, former group vice president of corporate strategy, who retired last year.

“Jacinth is an accomplished business executive with senior global leadership experience at top Fortune 500 companies,” Snee said. “She has an exceptional finance background with significant experience in strategic planning, financial planning and analysis, mergers and acquisitions, integrations, controllership and international operations. I am excited to have her join our team and confident that she will bring valuable external experience and perspective to our senior leadership team.”

Previously, Smiley was vice president and chief accounting officer for LyondellBasell, one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world. She spent 20 years with General Electric (GE) in various roles across multiple industries, rising to chief financial officer for GE Oil and Gas North America. In addition, she held other senior roles within GE Capital and GE’s industrial businesses.

Smiley began her career at Arthur Andersen before joining United Technologies, where she worked across the United States, Europe, Middle East and Asia, ultimately becoming the finance manager of United Technologies’ regional treasury center in the United Kingdom.

Smiley holds a Bachelor’s Degree in accounting from the University of Connecticut.