TYSON FOODS CFO ARRESTED FOR CRIMINAL TRESPASSING AND PUBLIC INTOXICATION

John R. Tyson, the recently named Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Executive Vice President of Tyson Foods, Inc. was arrested this past Sunday morning for public intoxication and criminal trespassing in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

The 32-year-old great-grandson of the company’s founder, is embarrassed after his arrest and said in a memo, “I made a serious mistake and this has caused me to reflect deeply on the impact my actions can have on others. My conduct was inconsistent with my personal values, the company’s values and the high expectations we hold for each other.”

Tyson was found asleep Sunday morning in a woman’s bed in her home in northwest Arkansas, according to alocal news station. Purportedly, the woman got home around 2:00 a.m. Sunday and found the unknown man inher bed, saying she didn’t know who he was and called the police. She told police that she believes the front door was left unlocked allowing the entry.  According to the Washington County, Arkansas, Sheriff’s Department, Tyson was found in taken to jail where he was booked early Sunday, but was released later that day.

The arrest comes just a week before John R. Tyson was likely to address investors for the first time as CFO during an earnings report on November 14, when senior executives are also set to speak with reporters.

The show-stopping event closely followed Tyson’s recent elevation to CFO, that was effective on October 2. The young Tyson is also a lecturer at the University of Arkansas’ business school, joined the family business in 2019 after working in investment banking at JP Morgan, as well as private equity and venture capital.

He is the son of board Chairman John H. Tyson, and great-grandson of the founder John W. Tyson, making him a fourth-generation member of the Tyson family. The Tyson family worth is estimated at $3.3 billion and the company, started three generations ago, is worth $24 billion.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Tyson is the youngest CFO serving at a company in the Fortune 500 or S&P 500.

A company spokesman, Derek Burleson, said in an email, “We’re aware of the incident and this is a personal matter, and we have no additional comment.”