Scott O’Hara, the head of Heinz’s North American business, has left the ketchup giant, the company announced today (26 June).
O’Hara has moved on to “pursue other opportunities”, the US food manufacturer said.
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Dave Woodward, the former head of Heinz’s business in the UK and Ireland, replaces O’Hara with immediate effect.
It is a swift change of roles for Woodward. On 1 May, he took on a role as executive vice president for Heinz’s operations in its “rest of the world” unit after six years in charge of its businesses in the UK and Ireland.
In its last financial year, which ran until 29 April, Heinz saw its consumer products sales fall in North America. Volumes slid 2.3% on the back of price increases and reduced promotional activity. Operating profit was down 2.5%.
When Heinz reported its annual results in May, O’Hara admitted he was “not happy” with the results from the company’s North American business “especially on the top line”.
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By GlobalDataO’Hara acknowledged Heinz was “severely under-represented” in drug, dollar and convenience stores, where consumers were shopping for lower-price products.
However, he said Heinz was “taking action to change that” and he forecast an increase in organic sales and operating profit from the division in the new financial year.
