Acadiana's News Leader Former Mcllhenny Company CEO Dies

Former Mcllhenny Company CEO Dies

AVERY ISLAND, LA, January 30, 2012 – Ned Simmons, former CEO and Chairman of the Board of McIlhenny Company, passed away on Saturday, January 28, 2012, at the age of 83. 

The great-grandson of Tabasco sauce inventor E. McIlhenny, Ned gave a lifetime of service to McIlhenny Company, maker of Tabasco brand products.  He retired only recently as Chairman of the Board of McIlhenny Company as well as President of Avery Island, Inc., which administered land and mineral rights on his family's traditional south Louisiana home. One of Ned's most noteworthy contributions to the Tabasco sauce business was his embrace of new technologies, such as the use of scientific methods of quality assurance and the use of soil analysis and conservation practices, which increased pepper field yields and reduced erosion.

A New Orleans native, Ned was a board member of the National Audubon Society, Libby-Dufour Fund, Collins C. Diboll Private Foundation, Ochsner Foundation, and many other nonprofit organizations. He also played a large role in the regional business community, serving as a board member of CLECO, Pan-American Life Insurance Company, the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana, the State National Bank of New Iberia, and later the First National Bank of Commerce in New Orleans, among others. 

A 1949 graduate of Tulane University, Ned held a degree in biology and remained interested in the biological sciences even as he pursued a career in the family business. He also cultivated strong interests in conservation and archaeology, particularly Mesoamerican archaeology.  

He retired with the rank of Major from the US Army Reserves.

"Ned will be sorely missed," said Paul McIlhenny, current CEO and Chairman of the Board of McIlhenny Company. "We will not soon forget the great impact he made at our family companies and in our community."