Safe Foods Corp. President Bruce Smith has announced his retirement after 18 years of serving on the company’s executive team.
Smith joined Safe Foods, based in North Little Rock, in February 2001 as COO. He was promoted to president in 2017 when Slaton Fry became COO.
Smith oversaw strategic initiatives that included the optimization of the company’s Cecure application systems, the growth and development of the equipment fabrication and installation team, and he most recently led the project team for the new Safe Foods Global Headquarters and Innovation Center, according to a news release.
Before joining Safe Foods, Smith held several senior level positions with Entergy Corp. His most recent positions there were managing director of process and system integration and executive director of sales and service activities.
Smith obtained a bachelor’s degree with high honors in industrial engineering and a master’s degree in operations management from the University of Arkansas.
He has also attended executive education programs at Columbia University in sales management and key account planning and at the University of Michigan on finance for the non-financial manager and finance for strategic decision making.
“Being a part of the Safe Foods team has been the highlight of my career,” Smith said in the release. “It has been fulfilling to see this company grow from a small startup in 2001 to a rapidly growing industry leader today. I have no doubt that Safe Foods will continue to have a positive impact on the world’s food supply — leading to fewer illnesses and less waste.”
Smith will continue with the company in a consulting and mentoring role.
