Stewart Leeth is chief sustainability officer for Smithfield Foods, Inc. Based at the company’s headquarters in Smithfield, Virginia, Stewart leads the company’s global sustainability strategies, which now focus on seven core pillars: animal welfare; diversity, equity and inclusion; environmental stewardship; food safety and quality; health and wellness; helping local communities and worker health and safety. He also leads Smithfield’s environmental and regulatory compliance programs.

Stewart joined Smithfield Foods’ legal department in 2008 and served in a variety of legal, regulatory and government affairs roles with the company before being appointed to his current position in 2016. Under his leadership, the company has announced several industry-first carbon reduction goals, met its commitment to move pregnant sows into group housing on company-owned farms and exceeded its goal to source feed from farms utilizing precision farming techniques that reduce fertilizer use in the company’s supply chain. More recently, Smithfield has reported progress toward its original GHG reduction target and has adopted even greater climate targets, including a 30% GHG reduction goal and a pledge to become carbon negative in all U.S. company-owned operations by 2030.

In April 2023, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack appointed Stewart to the National Pork Board (NPB) following his election by industry delegates from across the country. NPB is a quasi-governmental organization, created by statute to develop and expand markets for pork and pork products.

Stewart serves on the boards of Smithfield’s joint ventures focused on developing renewable energy projects and infrastructure across the U.S. In addition, he serves on numerous other external boards and committees and is a frequent speaker on sustainability-related topics. He is also the author of the Public Utilities chapter of the Handbook of Virginia Local Government Law.

Prior to joining Smithfield Foods, Stewart was a partner at a global law firm, where he represented the firm’s clients before federal and state courts in matters involving federal and state environmental statutes, water rights disputes, cost recovery and contaminated property litigation, rulemaking and permitting. He also focused on state and local government matters.

He previously served as Assistant Attorney General for the Commonwealth of Virginia, representing a variety of state agencies, and began his legal career working as a law clerk to Judge Claude M. Hilton, presiding in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.