Mark C. Simmons: Arkansas Business Hall of Fame

Mark C. Simmons has grown Simmons Foods from a company with less than $25 million in sales and 350 employees in 1974 to $1.4 billion in sales and over 6,000 employees in more than 20 facilities in North America. Simmons joined the family company in 1968 after graduating from the University of Arkansas with a degree in business administration. He worked in the field for the company, gaining hands-on experience in the poultry industry and handling special projects for his father, M.H. “Bill” Simmons, president and co-founder of Simmons Foods. Following the death of his father in 1974, Mark Simmons became president of the company at the age of 26. In 1987, he was named chairman of the board. He is a founding member of the Northwest Arkansas Council, and is the current presiding co-chair.

Simmons has served as a member of the John Brown University board for 28 years. He was a board member for the Care/Endeavor Foundations for 12 years. Simmons was a board member and officer of the Nature Conservancy for nearly 10 years. He was named Man of the Year in 1990 by the Arkansas Poultry Federation and is a past president and past director of The Poultry Federation.

 

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