Food People: Pilgrim's Pride, Imperial Sugar, Campbell Soup, ConAgra

Judge ‘Not Very Happy’ with Pilgrim’s Pride Paying Former Execs
Agreements by Pilgrim’s Pride to pay two former top executives about as much as they had earned in salary have irked the bankruptcy judge handling the company’s Chapter 11 case, but the judge this week for the second time delayed ruling on the matter.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis M. Lynn asked the court-appointed trustee, William T. Neary, and the company to submit briefs by February 12, but did not say when he might rule.

Neary last month objected to the pacts with former CEO Clint Rivers and former COO Robert Wright, saying they might be illegal.

The judge seems poised to agree. “I’m not very happy with this arrangement,” he said. “I don’t like it.”

The “consulting” agreements call for Rivers to earn $83,500 a month for four months and Wright to earn $50,000 a month for three months.

According to William K. Snyder, the company’s chief restructuring officer, the contracts are meant to keep the two men from working for competitors. “Keeping them out of the marketplace is warranted,” he said, because Pilgrim’s could lose business if they were to join the competition. “Truthfully, you wouldn’t pay somebody $83,500 a month to ask them where a file was,” he said, putting the lie to the whole “consulting” thing.

Meanwhile, losses at the company continue to mount. [Source: Associated Press]

Imperial Sugar, Whistleblower Make ‘Secret Deal’
Graham Graham, the vice president at Imperial Sugar who testified before a Senate Committee that company executives had tried to intimidate him away from dealing with safety issues at a Georgia refining plant that later exploded, killing or injuring dozens, has reached a “secret deal” with Imperial and has dropped his lawsuit against the company.

Graham has left the company and has agreed to drop his employment-discrimination lawsuit. If there were other terms to the deal, they weren’t disclosed.

On February 7 of last year, dust at the plant in Port Wentworth, near Savannah, was sparked, causing several explosions and fires that killed 14 workers and injured 40 others.

The company has denied Graham’s allegations that executives, including CEO John Sheptor, warned him off trying to improve unsafe conditions at the plant. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed $8.8 million in fines against the company, which has appealed OSHA’s proposal.

Graham had claimed that the company discriminated against him after he cooperated with agencies investigating the explosion. [Source: Savannah Morning News]

Promotions at Campbell Soup
Ashok Madhavan, assistant treasurer at Campbell Soup since 2004, has been named as vice-president/treasurer, succeeding William O’Shea, who has been named vice-president of finance and strategy for the North America soup, sauces and beverages division.

Madhavan had been director of financial and strategic analysis at Bristol-Myers Squibb, and joined Campbell in 1996. [Source: Food Business News]

ConAgra Names Board Member
Joie Gregor, most recently assistant to President Bush for presidential personnel, has joined the board of ConAgra, bringing the board’s size to 10.

Gregor is the former vice chairman of the executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles International. [Source: Business Wire]