WASHINGTON, D.C. – Clint Rivers, President and Chief Executive Officer of Wayne Farms LLC (Oakwood, Georgia) was installed as 2019-2020 Chairman of the National Chicken Council (NCC) during NCC’s 65h Annual Conference held today in Washington, D.C. Rivers succeeds outgoing chairman Mark Kaminsky, Chief Operating Officer at Koch Foods (Park Ridge, Illinois).
Rivers joined Wayne Farms in October 2012 as Vice President and General Manager of the Fresh Business Unit. In 2014, he was promoted to Chief Operating Officer, and, in 2017, promoted to President and Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining Wayne Farms, Rivers served as President of Foodservice and Supply Chain with Perdue Farms. In addition to the six years he spent with Perdue Farms, he worked 21 years with Pilgrim’s Pride where he held positions of increasing responsibility including the positions of Chief Operating Officer, and President and CEO. Rivers first began his career in the industry with Golden West Foods in Bedford, Virginia as a microbiologist and Quality Assurance foreman. He holds a degree in Animal Science from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Trent Goins, president and CEO of O.K. Foods (Fort Smith, Arkansas), takes over as NCC Vice Chairman. Over the past 15-plus years, Goins has held various positions within the company including VP of Sales and Marketing and Regional Sales Manager. He is the president of the Fort Smith Chamber of Commerce, serves on the Board of The Poultry Federation and the 64/6 Committee, and is the co-founder of the Outlier Music Festival and the Peacemaker Music and Arts Festival. Preceding his tenure at O.K. Foods, Goins worked as a Legislative Assistant on Agriculture and Trade Policy for Congressman Robert Marion Berry of Arkansas’ first Congressional district.
New to the officer corps, Pilgrim’s President and Chief Executive Officer Jayson Penn (Greeley, CO) will assume the role as NCC Secretary-Treasurer. Penn joined Pilgrim’s in 2011 and served as senior vice president of the Commercial Business Group, executive vice president of sales and operations, and president of Pilgrim’s USA prior to his current role. An accomplished executive with more than 30 years of experience, Penn started his career in his family’s poultry operation and has held management positions at several leading poultry companies. He has also served on the board of directors and the executive committee of the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council and currently serves on the board of directors and executive committee of the National Chicken Council and the board of directors of The World Poultry Foundation. He is a graduate of Florida State University and the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.
Officers serve one-year terms.
In addition to the three new officers, Mike Brown, of Vienna, Virginia, was elected to a seventh term as president of NCC.
“I want to personally thank Immediate Past Chairman Mark Kaminsky for the leadership and stewardship he displayed at the council during his chairmanship,” Brown said. “The upcoming year will be an important one for NCC, and the collective expertise of Clint, Trent and Jayson will be invaluable in shaping our priorities and providing direction for NCC and the industry.”
The National Chicken Council is the non-profit trade association headquartered in Washington, D.C. that represents U.S. chicken producers, 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.
