John R. Tyson, a member of the Tyson family and previously the Chief Financial Officer of Tyson Foods, has been convicted of driving under the influence and careless driving in Arkansas. The verdict, delivered on October 17, resulted in a fine of less than $1,000 and a requirement for 32 hours of community service, according to district court records. A 90-day jail sentence was also suspended in the case against John R. Tyson.
This legal outcome follows an incident in June when Tyson was stopped by Fayetteville, Arkansas police for speeding and hitting a curb. Law enforcement officers determined he was intoxicated at the time. This event initially led to his suspension from the CFO role at Tyson Foods. Subsequently, after two months, the suspension became permanent, officially ending his tenure as the company’s CFO.
John R. Tyson mugshot after his DUI arrest – former CFO of Tyson Foods and Tyson family heir.
This was not the first alcohol-related incident involving John R. Tyson. Back in November 2022, he was found intoxicated in a stranger’s bed. For that prior incident, John R. Tyson pleaded guilty to public intoxication and criminal trespass charges, resulting in a $440 fine. Despite no longer serving as CFO, John R. Tyson remains with Tyson Foods as an executive vice president, according to the company’s leadership page.
Before these incidents, John R. Tyson, as a fourth-generation Tyson family member, was considered a potential future CEO of Tyson Foods, following in the footsteps of his father, John H. Tyson, who was the last family member to lead the company until 2006. The CEO position at Tyson Foods has experienced considerable turnover in recent years. While a Tyson family member hasn’t been at the helm for some time, John R. Tyson was once seen as a possible candidate to change that.
Another potential Tyson family successor could be his sister, Olivia Tyson, who currently heads the Tyson Family Foundation. However, her path to CEO is considered unlikely given her lack of operational experience within Tyson Foods itself, having only served in her current philanthropic role.
The CFO position vacated by John R. Tyson has been filled by Curt Calaway, a long-time finance executive at Tyson Foods. Calaway, who has held various leadership roles within the company, including CFO of prepared foods and senior vice president of finance, was initially appointed as interim CFO following Tyson’s suspension. By the end of August, Curt Calaway’s promotion to CFO became permanent, marking a definitive change in leadership in Tyson Foods’ financial operations following the John R. Tyson incident.
