Sanderson Farms, Inc. has announced management changes within the company’s live production division. The production division of the expansive, Mississippi-based poultry operation is responsible for the selection and breeding of flocks, in addition to incubating, hatching and raising young chicks to full maturity.

“Sanderson Farms recognizes the value of investing in employee training and mentoring programs that, over a period of time, help to mold and distinguish future managers from within the company, rather than looking primarily outside of the company,” said Randy Pettus, director of production for Sanderson Farms. “I am confident that these additions to our management team are the fruits of our labors in both employee development and poultry production.”

Mike Tamimi has been promoted to Corporate Production Manager, where he will provide leadership and management for the company’s various production divisions, as well as programs aimed to achieve those divisions’ established operational objectives. Tamimi joined Sanderson Farms in 2008 as a Production Manager at the company’s Adel, Georgia production facility, where he was later named Division Manager in 2009. Prior to joining Sanderson Farms, he served as a complex manager for the Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation. Tamimi, an accounting graduate of Troy University in Alabama, is a member of the Board of Directors for the Georgia Poultry Federation, and serves as a mentor in Sanderson Farms 2020: Vision for Our Future, a program designed to cultivate managers and identify future leaders for the company.

Sanderson Farms has also named Heath Parker as Division Manager of the company’s Adel Production division, where he will be primarily responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of broiler production operations by assessing the short and long term results of production strategies and practices. Parker began his career with the company in March 2007 as a Flock Supervisor and has since served in several different capacities including Advanced Trainee, Broiler Manager, Production Manager and his most recent position, Advanced Trainee III. A graduate of Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, Parker received a Bachelor of Science degree in Poultry Science. He brings more than two years of prior experience in the poultry industry to the table, and is a currently a mentee in Sanderson Farms 2020: Vision for Our Future mentoring program.

Tommy Robertson, former Breeder/Hatchery Manager, has been promoted to Division Manager at the company’s Kinston, North Carolina production facility. Robertson, similar to Parker, will be responsible for evaluating the effectiveness of broiler production operations in his division, in addition to supervising and directing the activities of individual production departments. Robertson began his career with the poultry giant in 2009 as a Production Manager. He is a graduate of Southern Arkansas University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Agriculture.

“Our company has grown and evolved consistently throughout the last 67 years that we have been in business,” said Lampkin Butts, president and chief operating officer for Sanderson Farms. “I believe that these management changes within our production division signify the employment opportunities that will continue to expand even further as Sanderson Farms positions itself for future growth.”