Longtime Perdue employee Randy Day has been promoted to president of Perdue Foods, following 35 years of service.

Jim Perdue, chairman of Perdue Farms, announced the promotion, saying Day’s experience includes more than two decades on the Perdue Foods side of the Salisbury-based company’s business.

Day, Perdue said, “fully understands our diverse and growing Foods business and the strategy for growth.”

“Most importantly, he understands that we have a strong foundation in our values of quality, integrity, teamwork, and stewardship, and our vision to become the most trusted name in food and agricultural products. I’m confident in Randy’s leadership and experience to guide our Foods business,” Perdue said.

Day said his experience with the company gives him “a sense of direction and the opportunity to improve the business.”

“When you get the bully pulpit you get the change to implement changes. I want to make the company more prosperous. I want to provide more job opportunities. I want all stakeholders to benefit.

“We have to be successful to make that  happen,” said Day, father of Salisbury City Council President Jake Day and son of a pastor. His father, now deceased, was pastor at Parkway Church of God.

“I like the Eastern Shore and I like Perdue. I want to be here doing what I’m doing,” Day said.

As president, he will handle areas of business including sales, marketing and finance. Perdue has 20,000 employees, and 1,600 in Maryland.

“I’ve been in this business a long time. I grew up here. I worked in agriculture. My first job was working for W.F. Allen. That was a Salisbury company that grew peaches, apples and strawberry plants.

“I worked on a vegetable farm and it had chicken houses. I always knew I wanted to be in agriculture somehow, in making food,” Day said.

A native of the Eastern Shore, Day graduated from Easton High School and received a bachelor of science degree in biology from Western Maryland College. He earned a master’s degree in poultry nutrition from the University of Maryland College Park and completed an advanced management program at Harvard Business School.

He was executive vice president of supply chain for Perdue Foods.

He joined Perdue Farms in 1980 and held positions in distribution and sales before being named director of quality assurance and product development in 1992. He was promoted to vice president in 1993. In 1996, he was named vice president of quality assurance and logistics and was promoted to president and general manager of food service and prepared foods.

There, he was responsible for further-processed turkey and food service operations, food service sales and marketing, business development and the division’s overall direction and focus.

In July 2008, Day became senior vice president of Perdue AgriBusiness LLC, where he was responsible for business development and strategic planning, as well as management of Perdue BioEnergy LLC and Perdue AgriRecycle LLC.

In August 2013, he returned to the Foods business as senior vice president of sales and supply chain optimization.

Day serves on the National Chicken Council Board of Directors. He has served on the board of directors of the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association, on the executive committee of the National Turkey Federation and on the Tech and Regulatory Committee of the National Chicken Council.

He served on the board of the Mid-Atlantic YMCA and chaired the Secondary Education Advisory Committee for the Wicomico County Board of Education.

He and his wife, Debbie, live in Salisbury. They have three children and one grandson.