Jim Snee’s tenure at Hormel has made manifest the company’s intent to evolve a meat company into a diversified, snack-driven food business. Austin-based Hormel has divested business units that proved too volatile or commodified, seeking more value-added finished products. Snee views the current market as one where “meat is not being replaced, but adoption of meat alternatives is growing. Things are different when you factor in environmental and other concerns. It’s a different consumer base and it goes beyond not merely eating meat.” Snee plans to stay the course in 2022, though supply chain challenges and inflation are proving a major distraction. The company remains uniquely philanthropic and Minnesota-centered, but new CFO Jacinth Smiley, a GE veteran recruited from Texas, shows Hormel’s willingness to look beyond its comfy confines.