Kraig Westerbeek is Smithfield Foods Vice President of Smithfield Renewables and hog production division environmental affairs. Smithfield Renewables is a new platform within the organization that will unify, lead and accelerate the company's industry-leading carbon reduction and renewable energy efforts. He will also lead an advisory committee that will evaluate projects and help direct a company-wide strategy for renewable energy projects across both farms and facilities.

Previously, Kraig served as vice president for environment, engineering, and support services for Smithfield’s Hog Production Division in Warsaw, N.C. He was responsible for ensuring that the company is compliant with all state and federal environmental rules and regulations, in addition to providing oversight on engineering, feed manufacturing, and transportation activities.

Kraig began working for Murphy-Brown, now Smithfield Foods in 1993 as an environmental technician.

He is certified by the Irrigation Association as a spray irrigation designer and is certified by the Natural Resources and Conservation Service as a technical service provider to develop nutrient utilization plans for animal producers. He is also the chairman of the Duplin County Health Board.

A native of Clinton, N.C., Kraig earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1993 from North Carolina State University in Raleigh.