Leland Tollett, who has been serving as interim president and CEO of the company since January 2009, will continue in the coming months to assist Mr Smith and Mr Lochner in the transition, and he will be available for strategic advice and support.

Mr Lochner joined IBP, later purchased by Tyson, in 1983 as director of research. After Tyson Foods acquired IBP in 2001, he was named group vice president of Tyson Fresh Meats. He was then named Tyson Foods's senior group vice president of margin optimization in 2005 before becoming senior group vice president of fresh meats in 2007.

John Tyson, chairman of the board of Tyson Foods, said: "The Tyson board and the Tyson family congratulate Donnie Smith and Jim Lochner and wish them the best for the future success of our company. We appreciate Leland Tollett stepping into the CEO role earlier in the year and working so hard to help turn the company around."

http://www.datamonitor.com

Republication or redistribution, including by framing or similar means,
is expressly prohibited without prior written consent. Datamonitor shall 
not be liable for errors or delays in the content, or for any actions 
taken in reliance thereon

Leland Tollett, who has been serving as interim president and CEO of the company since January, will continue in the coming months to assist Smith and Lochner in the transition, and he will be available for strategic advice and support. "When I was called back to help get our company back on course, I was asked how long I would be in this role. I jokingly said, 'somewhere between three months and three years, hopefully sooner than later.' That time is now, and our company has been profitable for an extended period of time and it has been personally gratifying to me to have been able to lead a great team of people in turning our company around in a relatively short time. I know Donnie and Jim are ready to take on these new responsibilities and lead the great team of managers we have in our company. I've enjoyed being back at the company this year, but while I'll continue to be available for advice should it be needed, the amount of time I spend on company matters will be reduced significantly going forward," Tollett said.

Donnie Smith, 50, joined Tyson Foods in 1980 after graduating from the University of Tennessee with a degree in Animal Science. After seven years experience in various live poultry production jobs, he moved to the corporate headquarters in Springdale, Arkansas, to join the Tyson commodities purchasing group. Since then, he has had various leadership roles in the company, including Purchasing; Environmental, Health and Safety; Food Safety and Quality Assurance; Manufacturing Services; Information Systems; and Logistics, before becoming senior group vice president of Poultry and Prepared Foods.

"I started with Tyson Foods 29 years ago, and I've been very fortunate to serve in several roles for this great company," Smith said. "At every turn, I learned a different aspect of what we do, but the most important thing I've learned is that we have an amazing team of individuals that are dedicated to producing results. I am honored that I will now serve these team members as the leader of our company, and I am certain that 2010 and the years to come are going to be great for our shareholders, our customers, and other stakeholders. Yes, we, like everyone else, have seen some struggles in these economic times, but I am certain that through the leadership of our team, the efforts of all our team members with our customers, and the focus on operational excellence, we will succeed."

Jim Lochner, 57, joined IBP, inc., later purchased by Tyson, in 1983 as director of research. Previously, he was a quality control food technologist at Oscar Mayer Foods and a laboratory technician at the University of Wisconsin. In his first 14 years at IBP, Lochner held several different officer positions in various quality control and technical services areas. He became executive vice president of IBP in 1997, responsible for all of IBP's beef and pork plants. In 2000, he was promoted to president and CEO of IBP. After Tyson Foods acquired IBP in 2001, he was named group vice president of Tyson Fresh Meats. He was then named Tyson Foods' senior group vice president of Margin Optimization in 2005 before becoming senior group vice president of Fresh Meats in 2007. Lochner earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in meat and animal science from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

As president and CEO, Smith's direct reports will be: Chief Operating Officer Jim Lochner, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Dennis Leatherby, Executive Vice President and General Counsel David Van Bebber, Executive Vice President and Special Assistant to the President Buddy Wray, Senior Vice President for Human Resources Ken Kimbro and Senior Vice President for External Relations Sara Lilygren. As the Chief Operating Officer, Lochner's direct reports will be all of Tyson Foods' business units, including Poultry and Prepared Foods, Fresh Meats, International, Renewable Products, and the Shared Services Groups that support the business units through Transportation, Information Services, Product Development and Environmental, Health and Safety Services. Successors to Smith and Lochner will be named within the next two weeks, along with any other related announcements.

About Tyson Foods, Inc.

Tyson Foods, Inc., founded in 1935 with headquarters in Springdale, Arkansas, is the world's largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef and pork, the second-largest food production company in the Fortune 500 and a member of the S&P 500. The company produces a wide variety of protein-based and prepared food products and is the recognized market leader in the retail and foodservice markets it serves. Tyson provides products and service to customers throughout the United States and more than 90 countries. The company has approximately 117,000 Team Members employed at more than 300 facilities and offices in the United States and around the world. Through its Core Values, Code of Conduct and Team Member Bill of Rights, Tyson strives to operate with integrity and trust and is committed to creating value for its shareholders, customers and Team Members. The company also strives to be faith-friendly, provide a safe work environment and serve as stewards of the animals, land and environment entrusted to it.

The Tyson Foods, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3224

This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire, www.globenewswire.com

SOURCE: Tyson Foods, Inc.

CONTACT:  Tyson Foods
Gary Mickelson
479-290-6111
gary.mickelson@tyson.com

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SmarTrend analyzes over 5,000 securities simultaneously throughout the trading day and provides its subscribers with trend change alerts in real time. To get a free trial of our trading calls and maximize your trading results, please visit http://www.TradeTheTrend.com.

Get exclusive, actionable insight into how the market is expected to trend prior to market open with our free morning newsletter. Sign up at: http://www.TradeTheTrend.com/signup.html