Jeffrey M. Swain
Senior Managing Director
Jeff Swain has over 30 years of executive and board level corporate development experience including all aspects of acquisition execution; vision and strategy development; synergy harvesting of multiple entities; external financing; R&D/ new product line development; and strategic & operational planning.
Jeff Swain is a Senior Managing Director with FODIS. He is one of our practice leaders in the areas of business governance related to the growth and development of multi-generational family businesses enterprises, and active management and oversight of direct investments in operating businesses, especially ones in the food products arena. He is also a member of the board of directors of Burris Logistics, a position he has held since 1996. Burris Logistics has been a client of FODIS since 1989.
Prior to joining FODIS, Mr. Swain served as a partner, board member and the CEO of Natural Foods Holdings between 2006 and 2015 when it was sold to Perdue Farms. Natural Foods Holdings consisted of three operating entities, which were acquired and developed under the leadership of Mr. Swain: Niman Ranch, a provider of "all natural" beef, pork, lamb and processed meat products; Sioux Preme Packing, a hog harvester and fabricator satisfying the vast majority of U.S. niche pork programs; and Prairie Grove Farms, a provider of antibiotic free fresh and processed pork products.
He previously served as CEO / President of B.C. Natural Foods, a business with 2,500 employees, 11 plants and 8 branches that provided chicken, beef, pork, turkey, lamb and further processed products. During his time running this business, he built-up the business by completing eight acquisitions, developing and implementing the first "all natural" multi-species strategy, expanded into further processed products, all of which expanded EBITDA by six-fold in three years. From 1993 to 2000, Mr. Swain served as President/ COO of Townsends, Inc., a multi-generational family controlled diversified food company with 5,000 employees, 6 plants and 4 divisions, consisting of the 10th largest vertically integrated poultry operation, a soybean extraction & soybean oil refinery, a prepared foods company (soups, side dishes and entrees), and a 16,000 acre farming operations. While serving in this position he developed and implemented a strategy to realize financial growth of more than 10% annually while creating a diversified portfolio of businesses, while materially improving the profitability ranking.
During 1992-3, he served as the Executive Vice President of Butterball Turkey Co, a business owned by ConAgra Corp., where he had complete P&L and balance sheet responsibility. From 1981-93, he served in a number of positions with increasing responsibility with Foster Farms, a multi-generational family controlled business. In his last two positions with that business he served as the General Manager of Marketing, and the General Manager of Production. From 1978-81, he served as Manager of Business Planning & Market Research with Aerojet General. Between1974-1978, he started his career with Borg Warner Corporation as a Manager of Cost Accounting.
Mr. Swain earned an MBA with a concentration in Marketing from California State University, and a BS in Accounting, Dean's List from Pennsylvania State University. Mr. Swain resides in St. Petersburg, Florida and London Grove Township, Pennsylvania.
