RIDGELAND, Miss. — Cal-Maine Foods Inc. announces the appointment of Keira Lombardo as the company’s first-ever chief strategy officer.
The creation of this role underscores Cal-Maine Food’s commitment to delivering long-term value through operational excellence, innovation, and deeper stakeholder engagement, the company notes, adding that, as CSO, Lombardo will work with the senior leadership team to further accelerate and shape enterprise priorities — building on Cal-Maine Food’s leadership role in a rapidly changing marketplace.
Lombardo is a seasoned food and agriculture executive with more than two decades of experience leading transformation and growth across complex, multi-stakeholder food systems. She brings a performance-driven mindset grounded in purpose and a deep commitment to the people and principles that power a resilient, sustainable food supply — today and for the future, Cal-Maine said.
Lombardo most recently served as CEO of Dairy MAX, a large-scale dairy organization representing approximately 700 farm families across eight states. Under her leadership, Dairy MAX implemented an ROI-focused operating model, aligned its structure, talent, and strategic focus, and elevated dairy as a smart, affordable choice rooted in wellness, trust, and sustainability, the company added. Before joining Dairy MAX, she was a senior executive at Smithfield Foods, where she played a key role in repositioning the company from a commodity protein producer to a branded, purpose-driven CPG business — leading functions across corporate affairs, people and culture, and stakeholder strategy.
Lombardo’s responsibilities at Cal-Maine Foods will include partnering on enterprise strategy, stakeholder engagement, corporate affairs, public relations, and digital integration. She will work to align the company’s internal vision with external priorities, ensuring that purpose, performance, and culture reinforce one another.
“Keira brings a rare combination of strategic discipline, stakeholder fluency, and food system insight to Cal-Maine Foods,” Sherman Miller, Cal-Maine Foods president and CEO, said. “Her leadership will support our ability to continue to execute our long-term strategy and leverage our disciplined capital allocation into meaningful stakeholder returns — partnering with the team to unlock new growth opportunities, navigate complexity, and strengthen our performance in a dynamic environment.”
“Cal-Maine Foods leads with scale and operational strength — and continues to evolve through innovation, discipline, and strategic focus,” Lombardo said. “I look forward to collaborating with the leadership team to build on that momentum and help drive long-term value across the business.”
