LITTLE ROCK, AR -- The Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR) ranked Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN) among the top 20 companies in the country for its inclusion of Hispanics throughout its business.



“Tyson Foods is doing a better job valuing cultural diversity because of its partnership with LULAC, the nation’s largest and oldest Hispanic organization,” said the company’s chairman and CEO, John Tyson. Approximately one-third of Tyson’s 114,000 team members are Hispanic.



Throughout their relationship, LULAC had encouraged Tyson to consider including Hispanic representation on the company’s board and senior management ranks. After a two-year search for qualified candidates, Tyson appointed the company’s first Hispanic board member in 2004. Albert C. Zapanta, president and CEO of the United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce, is currently one of nine directors on the company’s board.



Also in 2004, J. Alberto Gonzalez-Pita was named Tyson’s executive vice president and general counsel of Tyson Foods. He serves as Tyson’s chief legal officer, overseeing all legal matters involving the company.



Other examples of Tyson’s Hispanic inclusion efforts include: Tyson’s Core Values, Leadership and Organizational Development Department, Tyson Leadership College, Tyson Workforce Home Benefit Program, Newcomers Financial Literacy Program, Hispanic Marketing/Contributions and Tyson Supplier Diversity Program – Tyson offers equal opportunity to all potential suppliers of goods and services. For example, the company tracks procurement with Hispanic-owned firms and has a procurement goal that targets Hispanic suppliers



Tyson Foods, Inc., founded in 1935 with headquarters in Springdale, Arkansas, is the world’s largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef and pork and the second-largest food company in the Fortune 500. The company produces a wide variety of protein-based and prepared food products, which are marketed under the “Powered by Tyson™” strategy.



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