Dick Bond, president and CEO of Tyson Foods Inc. for the past three years, announced his immediate retirement early last month. Leland Tollett, Tyson CEO from 1991-1998, will serve as interim CEO until a permanent successor is named to head the world's largest meat processor.

The Wall Street Journal says the move followed months of increased involvement in daily affairs by Don Tyson, the founder's son who controls nearly 70% of the voting shares. Buffeted by a combination of weaker demand, oversupply and high commodity prices, Tyson Foods' stock price dropped 42% in 2008. Tyson Foods' archrival in the chicken business, Pilgrim's Pride Corp., filed for bankruptcy a month before.