Tom Hayes, president and chief executive officer of Tyson Foods, earned $8.9 million his first year in charge, almost doubling his 2016 pay.
Hayes is now the second-highest paid executive at Tyson Foods for 2017, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing this week. He was paid $4.6 million in 2016 before succeeding Donnie Smith as CEO on Dec. 31, 2016.
Tyson's 2017 fiscal year ended Sept. 30.
Total 2017 compensation included $1.1 million in salary, $3.8 million in stock awards and $2.1 million in executive incentives and other earnings.
Board Chairman John Tyson made the most this year with an 8 percent bump in compensation to $10.4 million.
Executives Dennis Leatherby and Noel White saw a slight dip in earnings this year compared with 2016.
Smith, who agreed to a consulting contract with Tyson after retiring, saw his earnings drop 55 percent to roughly $5 million after Hayes took over.
-- Nathan Owens
Sam's Club gets OK to build test facility
Sam's Club, the warehouse division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., has received approval from the Bentonville Planning Commission to build a facility close to its headquarters.
The company is planning to construct the 140,000-square-foot "layout center" on 10 acres across the street from its headquarters at 2101 Southeast Simple Savings Drive. The new building for testing store designs will replace the company's current layout center, which is in a former Sam's Club in Springdale.
Spokesman Carrie McKnight said Sam's Club is in the early stages of the project, but moving its layout center close to headquarters will simplify operations. She said the goal is to have the new center open by the end of 2018.
The cost of the project was not included in the plans presented to the commission.
-- Robbie Neiswanger
State index closes at 406.71, up 0.39
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, rose 0.39 to 406.71 Thursday.
"The energy sector outperformed for a second consecutive day with stocks closing higher despite weakness in afternoon trading as volume was lighter in advance of the holiday weekend," said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.
Total volume for the index was 20.6 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 12/22/2017