Irene Rosenfeld, the chief executive of Kraft Foods, has been lined up to take charge of the company’s snacks business, including Cadbury, when the US giant splits in two next year.
Rosenfeld, chairman and CEO at Kraft, will take the same role at the unnamed snacks company, which sell brands including Cadbury Dairy Milk, Trident gum and Oreo biscuits.
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“Irene was the obvious choice to lead the global snacks company,” Mark Ketchum, Kraft’s lead director, said today (5 December). “As a result of her bold vision, courage to transform Kraft Foods’ portfolio and investment in core brands and high-growth developing markets, we are now able to launch two formidable world-class companies.”
Rosenfeld, who has been CEO of Kraft since 2006 and chairman since 2007, has proved a controversial figure during and after the company’s takeover of Cadbury in 2010.
She attracted criticism after Kraft’s decision to push ahead with Cadbury’s plans to close a manufacturing facility in the UK. Prior to the takeover, Kraft had indicated it had hoped to keep the plant open.
In the last two years, UK politicians have criticised Rosenfeld for refusing to appear before a parliamentary committee on two occasions to answer questions about the deal. In June, Rosenfeld explained her decision not to attend the hearings by saying she felt there was “no need” to appear.
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By GlobalData“We had answered all their questions; there was no new information. Appearing before the panel was not the best use of my personal time,” Rosenfeld told Business Week.
Kraft’s split, which it hopes to complete by the end of 2012, will also create a North American grocery business that will manufacture products including Philadelphia cheese, Capri Sun beverages and Jell-O desserts.
Tony Vernon, president of Kraft’s current North American division will become CEO of the new business on the continent. John Cahill, industrial partner of US private-equity firm Ripplewood Holdings, has been lined up to be the new company’s chairman. Cahill will initially be the firm’s executive chairman, a position he will take next month. Kraft said that decision reflected the “tremendous effort required to launch and transition to a public company”.
