James T. "Red" Hudson: Arkansas Business Hall of Fame

James T. "Red" Hudson started as a feed-store clerk for Ralston Purina Company and worked his way up to vice president of the West Central division. When Ralston Purina offered to sell the division, Hudson pulled together the financing and founded Hudson Foods, Inc., in 1972.

Under his leadership, the poultry and meat processing company grew to a $2 billion publicly traded company with 10,000 employees and 19 processing plants in 11 states. Hudson Foods was purchased by Tyson Foods, Inc. in 1998.

 

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