SILOAM SPRINGS, ARK. – Simmons Foods announced the hiring of Joel Sappenfield as the president of Simmons Prepared Foods. Sappenfield succeeds Drew McGee, who resigned this past September. Sappenfield, who has worked in all facets of the poultry industry for the past three decades, recently stepped down from his role as president of Cobb-Vantress, a subsidiary of Tyson Foods specializing in poultry breeding. At Simmons, he will oversee all Simmons’ poultry business, which includes sales, marketing and operations.

“Joel’s nearly 30-year legacy of performance makes him the right person to grow Simmons Prepared Foods,” said David Jackson, chief operating officer of Simmons Foods. “We are looking forward to putting his leadership experience to work in our poultry and prepared foods business.”

Sappenfield’s career began in 1989, when he worked as a commodities broker for about one year after graduating from Oklahoma State University with a bachelor’s degree in finance. He joined Tyson in 1990 and worked in various sales and leadership positions, including his role at Cobb-Vantress.

“We are excited to have Joel aboard as we continue to strengthen our teams and position our business for strong performance in 2021,” Jackson added.