WASHINGTON — During its recent 71st Annual Conference, the National Chicken Council installed Kevin McDaniel, Wayne-Sanderson Farms president and CEO, as its 2026-2027 chairman. McDaniel succeeds David Jackson, Simmons Foods, who is now the immediate past chairman.
McDaniel has more than 35 years of poultry industry experience holding such positions as chief operating officer of Wayne Farms, as well as its senior vice president and general manager of the Fresh Business Unit. He has also served as Aviagen North America’s president, along with senior roles with Pilgrim’s and OK Foods.
McDaniel is also on the board of the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association, and other industry associations. He holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from Stephen F. Austin State University, and resides in Suwanee, Ga.
Other new NCC officers elected during the annual conference include:
- Vice Chairman Kevin McAdams, Perdue Farms president and CEO.
McAdams, who has held his current role with Perdue in July 2023, began with the company as Perdue Foods president and chief operating officer of Perdue Farms in July 2022. In the more than 100-year history of the company, he serves as its fifth CEO.
He has also held several roles in the food and beverage industries, including positions with Jack Link’s Protein Snacks, Schwan’s Consumer Brands, Pabst Brewing Co., as well as Red Bull, The Coca-Cola Co. and Frito-Lay (PepsiCo).
McAdams holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Iowa State University, where he also received an Outstanding Alumni Award in 2024.
- Secretary-Treasurer Brad Respess, Tip Top Poultry president and CEO.
Coming new into an NCC officers’ role, Respess is a third generation of the family-owned and operated Tip Top Poultry. The Marietta, Ga., company is a poultry and food processing business. Respess has more than 25 years of industry experience, with about a decade of that in his role as CEO.
Respess has a degree in computer engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and has worked with Nortel Networks with a team that assisted telecommunications companies with high-speed internet connections. With Tip Top Poultry, he joined in a sales support and inventory planning role and has served in several roles within the company before becoming its CEO.
Harrison Kircher will also serve in his third term as NCC president.
“I want to commend and thank David Jackson for his tremendous leadership and support over the past year,” Kircher said in the council’s announcement. “Kevin McDaniel, Kevin McAdams and Brad Respess are proven leaders who bring decades of hands-on experience to our organization.”
“I look forward to working alongside them as we advocate for policies that keep chicken affordable, safe and abundant,” Kircher added, “and as we advance an industry that produces America’s number one protein and supports communities across the country.”
