Tyson Foods suspends CFO after arrest for intoxicated driving

By Tom Polansek and Granth Vanaik

(Reuters) - Tyson Foods suspended its chief financial officer, John R. Tyson, on Thursday after police in Arkansas arrested and charged him with driving while intoxicated and careless driving.

The U.S. meatpacker said Curt Calaway, a senior finance executive with nearly two decades at the company, will take over as interim CFO.

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

Shares of the Springdale, Arkansas-based company were down 1.8% at $53.75 in afternoon trading.

The University of Arkansas police arrested and handcuffed John R. Tyson, 34, and released him nine hours later. He could not be immediately reached for a comment.

A police corporal saw John R. Tyson drive his silver SUV partially on a curb and grass while making an improper turn early on Thursday, according to a police report. Tyson's eyes appeared bloodshot and watery and he smelled of intoxicants, the report said.

John R. Tyson initially denied drinking but later said he consumed about five to seven Miller Lite beers at a bar in Fayetteville, Arkansas, the report said. His blood alcohol tested 0.191, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08, according to police.

Tyson was previously arrested for criminal trespassing and public intoxication in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in November 2022, the same year he became CFO. A college-aged female was alarmed to have found Tyson, who she did not know, asleep in her bed upon returning home, according to the Fayetteville police report in 2022.

The company at the time announced that a committee of its board members would review the incident, but Tyson continued in his role. John R. Tyson apologized for the arrest on a quarterly earnings call.

"At some point, the board will need to decide when enough is enough," said Arun Sundaram, analyst with CFRA Research. "It's difficult to imagine many other high-ranking executives retaining their positions after several legal incidents."

John R. Tyson's father, John H. Tyson, chairs the board and the family holds a majority of the company's stock.

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