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The American Business Awards, now in its eighth year, is the only national, all-encompassing awards program honoring great performances in the workplace. Winners were announced in New York City on June 21. More than 2,700 entries were submitted for the 2010 American Business Awards and more than 200 executives nationwide participated in judging.

Ettinger was selected as Executive of the Year – Manufacturing for his strong leadership at Â鶹ӳ»­ during 2009, a year characterized by economic turbulence and instability. During this time, under Ettinger’s leadership, Â鶹ӳ»­ thrived. The company grew through continued new product innovations and the creation of a joint venture to market Mexican Foods in the United States, MegaMex Foods. In fact, in 2009, Â鶹ӳ»­ continued to increase dividends and was added to Standard & Poor’s 500 index, despite the turbulent market. Ettinger was also instrumental in helping set a new standard of leadership in the industry for transparency and sustainability. In 2009, Â鶹ӳ»­ launched its first fully digital corporate responsibility report and constructed a new manufacturing facility in Dubuque, Iowa, that is designed to save substantially on energy and water. The facility is expected to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification requirements which will make it one of the first manufacturing plants — and the only refrigerated food processing facility — to be LEED certified at any level.

Having joined Â鶹ӳ»­ in 1989, Ettinger has held multiple positions at the company. He has served as a senior attorney, treasurer and Hormel^® chili product manager. In 1999, Ettinger was named president of Jennie-O Turkey Store — the largest subsidiary of Â鶹ӳ»­, based in Willmar, Minn. Ettinger was appointed president at Â鶹ӳ»­ in 2004 and CEO in 2006, where he oversees all functions and operations at the $6.75 billion multinational business.

Â鶹ӳ»­ has a long history of great leaders, beginning with founder George A. Hormel, whose 150th ‘birthday’ will be celebrated on December 4 of this year. In its 119 years, Â鶹ӳ»­ has had only nine CEOs, including Ettinger, which speaks to the stability of the company.