Mondelēz International has appointed Dirk Van de Put, the current Chief Executive of Canadian frozen foods maker McCain Foods, to succeed Irene Rosenfeld as the company’s chief executive from November 2017.
Rosenfeld has been associated with the company for more than 11 years, first as the CEO of Kraft and then as the CEO of Mondelez, which was spun off from Kraft in 2012. Rosenfeld will continue as chairman of the board until March 31, 2018, at which point she will retire and Van de Put will assume the role of chairman and CEO, the company said in a statement.
Van de Put, who has about 30 years of experience in the packaged food industry, has held executive roles at Mars Inc and Groupe Danone.
The company is in the midst of a plan to cut about $3 billion in costs by the end of 2018 through measures such as opening more efficient manufacturing plants and zero-based budgeting, which requires expenses to be justified for each new period.
Pinar Hosafci, packaged food analyst at Euromonitor International comments: “Rosenfeld’s departure follows Mondelez’s failed attempt to take over Hershey and comes amid stagnant organic sales growth as consumers reach for healthier options over processed foods. Van de Put, Rosenfeld’s replacement has a long history with leading food companies, including Mars and lately also McCain Foods privately held Canadian company that is the largest marketer and manufacturer of frozen french fries, and one that also produces private label manufacturers. Most probably Mondelez will follow the big flurry of other FMCG giants such as Nestle and Unilever who are undergoing a massive cost reduction period, especially in the areas of personal cuts and operational management, perhaps even R&D and advertisement, one area that Rosenfeld was completely against.”
