Cal-Maine Foods recently appointed Keira Lombardo as its first-ever Chief Strategy Officer. In this new role, she will be responsible for guiding the company’s long-term vision, aligning growth strategies, and helping navigate the evolving poultry and egg marketplace. As Cal-Maine strengthens its position as the largest producer and marketer of shell eggs in the United States, Keira’s leadership will play a key role in shaping the company’s future.
Jim Eadie (Poultry Producer): What excites you most about becoming Cal-Maine’s first Chief Strategy Officer?
A: Keira Lombardo
I’m energized by the chance to help shape Cal-Maine’s future as a modern food company. As the nation’s leading egg-based food business, we already reach millions of households with one of the most affordable and nutrient-dense proteins. What excites me is the opportunity to build on that foundation—working alongside our leadership team and thousands of Cal-Maine family members to connect our scale and vertical integration with innovation in specialty and prepared foods, while sharpening our consumer focus. Together, we can take a business with incredible roots and position it for long-term growth, resilience, and impact.
Jim Eadie (Poultry Producer): Where do you see the biggest opportunities to create impact for Cal-Maine and the poultry industry?
A: Keira Lombardo
Eggs fit perfectly into today’s health and wellness movement: they’re nutrient-dense, protein-rich, versatile, and still one of the most affordable proteins available. Consumers want foods that are healthy, convenient, and aligned with their preferences—and eggs check all of those boxes.
For Cal-Maine, the growth runway is clear. First, continuing to expand in specialty eggs to meet evolving consumer preferences. Second, accelerating value-added and prepared foods that deliver protein-rich solutions for modern lifestyles. These opportunities are being driven by the collective work of our team—aligning strategy with operations, customer partnerships, and innovation across the organization. By working together, we create more consumer touchpoints, higher brand relevance, and greater earnings resilience, moving Cal-Maine from category leadership to consumer leadership.
Jim Eadie (Poultry Producer): How will your past experiences shape your approach in this new role?
A: Keira Lombardo
I’ve spent my career leading transformation in food and agriculture—helping companies shift from commodity-focused to consumer-driven, and from transactional to trusted. Along the way, I’ve learned that success comes not from one individual but from building alignment across teams and empowering people to deliver on a shared vision.
At Cal-Maine, I’ll apply that same approach: working with our leadership team and drawing on the expertise of our Cal-Maine family to respect the foundation of our core business while accelerating growth in specialty and prepared foods. This is about positioning Cal-Maine not just as the largest producer, but as a company that together creates meaningful, trusted choices for consumers every day.
Jim Eadie (Poultry Producer): Sustainability and animal welfare are top priorities in poultry—how do you see strategy connecting to these areas?
A: Keira Lombardo
For me, sustainability has always been about innovating processes, building efficiency into every step of the value chain, and mitigating risk in ways that deliver lasting impact. The companies that endure are those that embed innovation into their DNA, continually improving how they operate to earn trust and create competitive advantage.
At Cal-Maine, we are embedding this approach into our daily work—leveraging our scale and vertical integration to produce and deliver nutrient-dense protein more responsibly. From advancing flock care to reducing resource intensity to efficiently scaling specialty and prepared foods, these efforts are only possible because of the commitment of our people across the business. Done right, it reinforces animal welfare, strengthens environmental stewardship, and ensures we can continue delivering affordable, nutritious protein with long-term impact.
Jim Eadie (Poultry Producer): What are your top goals in your first year, and how do you plan to make your mark?
A: Keira Lombardo
In my first year, my priority is to listen, learn, and align—while setting the stage for accelerated growth. Cal-Maine already has unmatched scale and operational strength, and my focus is on sharpening where and how we grow next. That means leaning into specialty eggs that reflect evolving consumer preferences and prepared foods that bring protein-rich convenience to everyday life.
This work will be done together with my colleagues on the leadership team and enabled by our thousands of Cal-Maine family members across farms, plants, and offices. If we get this right, it won’t be about my mark—it will be about our collective ability to deliver affordable nutrition today while building a stronger, more resilient business for the future.
