FOUNDER/CEO: Michael L.Thompson
LOCATION: Pleasant Prairie, WI
One of the largest meat manufacturers in the country, Fair Oaks Foods supplies par-cooked pork, breakfast sausage and bacon to restaurants and grocery stores. It was originally called Fair Oak Farms (and before that Brooks Sausage) and was part of privately held global food processor OSI Group. But in 2018 it became an independent, minority owned firm run by Michael L.Thompson, who spent almost 20 years managing McDonald’s North American supply chain before joining OSI for 15 years. His son Michael J. Thompson, who joined in 2009, was promoted to president in 2023. In March, Fair Oaks Foods opened a new $134 million bacon factory in Iowa, which is expected to create 200 jobs.
