Sara Lee CFO Theo de Kool is to retire from the US food group in June after 18 years at the company.

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more


De Kool joined Sara Lee in 1990 as vice president of finance for the household and personal care division of the Dutch subsidiary Sara Lee/DE.


In 1995, de Kool was named CFO of the subsidiary and a year later became vice president of Sara Lee Corp.


In 2002, de Kool became executive vice president and the group’s CFO and has held his current position since 2005.


“It’s been a pleasure to work side-by-side with Theo over the past several years and I am
enormously thankful for his many contributions,” said Sara Lee chairman and CEO Brenda Barnes.

GlobalData Strategic Intelligence

US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?

Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.

By GlobalData

The company said yesterday (18 December) that it had started it search for a successor to de Kool.

Just Food Excellence Awards - Nominations Closed

Nominations are now closed for the Just Food Excellence Awards. A big thanks to all the organisations that entered – your response has been outstanding, showcasing exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact.

Excellence in Action
Winning five categories in the 2025 Just Food Excellence Awards, Centric Software is setting the pace for digital transformation in food and FMCG. Explore how its integrated PLM and PXM suite delivers faster launches, smarter compliance and data-driven growth for complex, multi-channel product portfolios.

Discover the Impact