Jim Perdue
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Perdue

Chairman of the Board of Directors since 1991, Jim grew up in the family business founded in 1920 by his grandfather, Arthur, and led in subsequent decades by his father, Frank.  Throughout high school, Jim worked in various grain and live production jobs at Perdue Farms.  He attended Wake Forest University in North Carolina, where he earned a degree in biology, and later obtained his Ph.D. in fisheries from the University of Washington in Seattle.  In 1983, he returned to Perdue Farms, first working as a plant management trainee.  He worked in a variety of production and quality control positions before being named vice president of quality improvement.  During this time, he earned an MBA from the Perdue School of Business at Salisbury State University.  In 1995, Jim assumed the advertising spokesman role from his dad.  As leader of Perdue’s executive team, Jim focuses on company growth strategies and long-range planning. He is active in poultry industry organizations and is a member of the Executive Committee of the National Chicken Council.