Pilgrim's Pride Mourns Death of President

12/19/2007

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation announced that O.B. Goolsby Jr., president and chief executive officer, passed away on Monday, December 17, after suffering a massive stroke last Saturday while on a hunting trip in south Texas. Goolsby was 60 years old. "Our company has lost a gracious, talented leader who served as an inspiration to everyone around him, and we are deeply saddened by his death," says Lonnie "Bo" Pilgrim, senior chairman and co-founder of Pilgrim's Pride. "O.B. was a respected, gifted executive who helped guide Pilgrim's Pride through a period of historic growth with candor, honesty and a wonderful sense of humor. O.B. also was a man of great, unwavering faith, and we will miss him dearly." Goolsby, who joined the company in 1969 at its distribution center in Mt. Pleasant, Texas, and one year later moved into plant sales, is survived by his wife, Barbara; his three children, Melissa, Greg and Tennille, and 11 grandchildren. The Pilgrim's Pride board of directors will be appointing a special committee of directors to begin the process of selecting a new president and chief executive officer. No timetable has been set for a decision. As previously announced, Goolsby's executive team has met and taken steps to ensure that all business activities will continue without interruption.