Tyson Foods suspends CFO after drunk driving arrest

By Tom Polansek and Granth Vanaik

(Reuters) – Tyson Foods suspended its chief financial officer John R. Tyson on Thursday after police in Arkansas arrested him and charged him with drunken driving and reckless driving.

The US meatpacker announced that Curt Calaway, a senior financial executive who has worked for the company for nearly two decades, will take on the role of interim CFO.

It was the second time in two years that the great-grandson of company founder John W. Tyson was arrested.

Shares of the Springdale, Arkansas-based company fell 1.8% to $53.75 in afternoon trading.

University of Arkansas police arrested 34-year-old John R. Tyson, handcuffed him and released him nine hours later. He was not immediately available for comment.

A police corporal saw John R. Tyson drive his silver SUV partially over a curb and grass early Thursday morning when he made a wrong turn, a police report said. Tyson’s eyes appeared bloodshot and watery and he smelled of drugs, the report said.

John R. Tyson initially denied drinking but later said he had consumed about five to seven Miller Lite beers at a bar in Fayetteville, Arkansas, the report said. His blood alcohol level was .191, more than twice the legal limit of .08, police said.

Tyson was previously arrested for trespassing and public intoxication in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in November 2022, the same year he became CFO. A student was alarmed to find Tyson, whom she did not know, sleeping in her bed upon returning home, according to the 2022 Fayetteville police report.

The company announced at the time that a committee of its board members would investigate the incident, but Tyson remained in office. John R. Tyson apologized for the arrest during a conference call about the quarterly results.

“At some point, the board will have to decide when enough is enough,” said Arun Sundaram, an analyst at CFRA Research. “It’s hard to imagine many other senior executives keeping their positions after multiple legal battles.”

John R. Tyson’s father, John H. Tyson, is chairman of the board and the family owns the majority of the company’s shares.

(Reporting by Granth Vanaik in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Juveria Tabassum; Editing by Shailesh Kuber and Aurora Ellis)