As group vice president of Hormel Foods and president of Hormel Foods International Corporation, Richard A. Bross oversees the company’s international division, which encompasses more than 50 countries outside of the United States. Bross joined the company in 1973 as a sales representative in Pittsburgh, Pa, followed by sales positions in Detroit and Grand Rapids, Mich. In 1979, he was named district sales manager in Ohio. He moved to corporate headquarters in Austin, Minn. as a product manager in 1982 and in 1984 was named a group product manager for new business development, Hormel® chili, and vending and convenience stores. From 1987 to 1994, Bross served first as director of marketing and then as general manager of the grocery products division. He was elected vice president of the grocery products division in 1995. In 1999, he was named president of Hormel Foods International Corporation, and in 2001, he was also advanced to group vice president of Hormel Foods. Bross holds a bachelor of arts degree in economics from the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Pa. He is a graduate of three executive education programs: Strategy Analysis for Finance and Marketing at the Wharton School and the University of Minnesota’s Minnesota Management Institute and the Minnesota Executive Program at the Carlson School of Management. Bross is also a member of the Austin Charter Commission, United Way of Mower County and St. Augustine’s Catholic Church.
