AUSTIN, Minn. – James Cavanaugh, Hormel Foods’ senior vice president of external affairs and general counsel, is retiring from the company effective Jan. 30, 2011. Lori Marco will succeed him and will oversee law, corporate communications and legislative and regulatory affairs.

Cavanaugh spent his 29-year career with the company in law. He started at Hormel Foods in 1982 as associate corporate attorney and spent the first 20 years of his career advancing through the law department as a labor specialist and corporate attorney. He was named corporate secretary and senior attorney in 2001. Cavanaugh was promoted to his current position in 2005, and served as corporate secretary until 2007.


Marco started her career at Hormel Foods in 2004 as a corporate attorney and was named senior attorney in 2007. She is a member of the Minnesota State Bar Association, American Intellectual Property Law Association and Minnesota Intellectual Property Law Association.

In other news, Jody Feragen has been named executive vice president and chief financial officer and Steven Binder has been named executive vice president of Refrigerated Foods. Feragen will continue to oversee all financial areas at Hormel Foods. She joined the company in 2000 as treasurer, assuming the title of vice president and treasurer in 2001. In 2005, she was promoted to vice president of finance and treasurer, and was named senior vice president and chief financial officer in 2007. Prior to joining Hormel Foods, she was assistant treasurer for National Computer Systems.

Binder will continue to lead the growth and profitability of the Refrigerated Foods division. He joined Hormel Foods in 1979 and progressed through numerous sales and management positions within the foodservice and meat products groups. He assumed his current position as group vice president refrigerated foods in 2007.

Ronald Fielding has been named executive vice president of corporate strategy, planning and development. In his new role, he will focus on corporate direction and growth by continuing to oversee corporate strategy and the mergers and acquisitions process. Fielding will also assume responsibility for consumer insights, corporate innovation and new channel development teams.

Fielding started his career with Hormel Foods in 1994 and has held various positions in Hormel Foods International Corporation, Hormel Foods Sales LLC and the Refrigerated Foods and Grocery Products divisions. He advanced to his current position of executive vice president in 2007. Prior to joining Hormel Foods, Fielding spent 19 years with Philip Morris

Other advancements include Thomas Day is being promoted to group vice president of foodservice; James Splinter, vice president of marketing for Hormel Foods consumer products in the Refrigerated Foods division, is being named group vice president of Grocery Products and will assume responsibilities for this division from Fielding. Steven Venenga will advance to director of marketing for meat products, and will report to Binder.

These changes will be effective on Nov. 1.