Donald E. “Buddy” Wray, who served in several executive positions over decades with Tyson Foods Inc. of Springdale, has died, according to statements from the company. He was 78.
Wray served several roles with the publicly traded meat processor, including chief operating officer and executive vice president, and special assistant to the president and chief executive officer. He retired in 2000, but served on the board of directors from 1994 to 2003.
“There is no way to express what Buddy meant to the company and thousands of its team members during that time,” Chairman John Tyson said in a statement. “He was also a long-time dedicated Springdale community leader who will be missed by many and long remembered.”
Wray, who earned a bachelor of science degree in animal husbandry from the University of Arkansas in 1959, joined Tyson Foods as a field service representative working with growers in 1961. In that job, Wray recruited farmers and helped them grow healthy chickens for the company.
In 1963, the company acquired a plant in Rogers, and Wray was appointed plant manager. In two years, he was managing two plants and serving as sale manager. It was the infancy of the modern poultry industry, and Wray was under pressure to move product on a daily basis.
Wray’s responsibilities grew with the company, and as the firm continued to make acquisitions, Wray was put in charge of processing, sales and marketing and, ultimately, chief operating officer in 1992. The following year, he became company president.
Throughout, he worked with key company leaders Don Tyson, the son of company founder John W. Tyson, and Leland Tollett.
“Buddy Wray was a legendary figure at Tyson Foods,” Don Tyson’s son John Tyson said. “From the earliest days of the growth of Tyson Foods, Buddy, along with my dad and Leland Tollett, made the company succeed, from the early 1960s through the 1990s. He was instrumental in everything the company did for over 50 years.”
Wray was inducted into the UA Sam M. Walton College of Business’ Arkansas Business Hall of Fame last year. According to his induction biography, Wray considered himself fortunate to go to work at a small, growing company, and lucky to be in the right place at the right time with the right product. Among the major innovations that took place during Wray’s tenure: precooked chicken products. The first was a chicken patty called Ozark Fry, introduced in 1976. And when the fast food business wanted a handheld product, the company came up with the chicken nugget.
“Buddy was one of my mentors and I will miss his leadership, insight and especially his friendship,” CEO Donnie Smith said. “He earned the gratitude and respect of all of us here at Tyson Foods and we will never forget him.”
Early Days
In 2011, Wray talked to Arkansas Business’ George Waldon about the company’s early days, including the tension surrounding the company’s IPO in 1963.
Internal growth fueled by retained earnings wasn’t fast enough to suit Don Tyson. That meant hitting the acquisition trail to buy capacity and manpower. The company’s first outing involved Garrett Poultry Co. of Rogers, with its processing plant and supporting hatchery and feed mill.
The deal amounted to about $250,000, with $50,000 down as non-refundable earnest money.
Wray said John W. Tyson had a lot riding on the deal, which was coming down to the wire.
“Don’s daddy had made a commitment with Mr. Garrett, but he didn’t have the capital to do it if the stock sale didn’t go through,” Wray said. “He was extremely nervous because the underwriters were taking their easy time getting everything done.
“It got done almost as the deal was going to expire, and Mr. Tyson was worried because he didn’t want to lose his earnest money.”
Wray was more than happy to talk about the company’s phenomal growth during his tenure. But he declined to contribute anecdotes about Don Tyson’s reputation for playing as hard as he worked.
“Oh, I have some more Don Tyson stories,” Wray said with a laugh. “But I don’t want to see them in print. I might’ve been part of them.”
The Donald “Buddy” Wray Chair in Food Safety was established in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences in 2004. He was a Quality of Life honoree by Northwest Arkansas Community College in 2014.
Wray served on the boards of the Jones Trust and Arvest Bank and is a former member of the boards of the Endeavor Foundation and the Care Foundation in Springdale. He also served on the Dean’s Executive Advisory Board at the UA Sam M. Walton College of Business and on the National Chicken Council and the Arkansas Poultry Federation. He was a past director of the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association.
Wray was also a member of the American Studies Institute National Advisory Board at Harding University of Searcy and the board of trustees of the College of the Ozarks in Missouri.
Wray’s Hall of Fame Induction Video
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