PITTSBURGH & CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, The Kraft Heinz Company (Nasdaq: KHC) (the “Company” or “Kraft Heinz”) announced new members of its Executive Leadership Team that will partner with Carlos Abrams-Rivera when he assumes the Chief Executive Officer role beginning in the 2024 fiscal year.
“Over the past four years under Miguel’s leadership, we’ve made great progress and now have a solid foundation to build our future,” said Carlos Abrams-Rivera, President of Kraft Heinz and incoming CEO. “Our strategic plan maps our ‘jobs to be done’ in each of our ‘must-win’ markets and defines the areas where we believe we need to focus to accelerate our growth. Our updated structure is designed to help us activate that strategy – with a focus on profitable growth and a dynamic omnichannel plan.”
As previously announced, Pedro Navio will be elevated to President, North America. Navio has been with Kraft Heinz since 2017, most recently in the role of President of Taste, Meals, and Away from Home in North America. In his current role, he reframed the Taste Elevation platform by repositioning Heinz and delivering a new product pipeline beyond ketchup. He also supported the transformation of the Away from Home business by reconnecting the Company’s brands with customers, moving from a sales channel only into a marketing powerhouse that brings innovation to partners and consumers. Prior to Kraft Heinz, he spent more than 15 years at Red Bull.
Willem Brandt will be elevated to the role of President, Europe and Pacific Developed Markets. Brandt has been at Kraft Heinz since 2021 in the role of Continental Europe President. During that time, he has significantly improved the Company’s top-line business in the region and reinvested in marketing and sales – helping the Company win in Taste Elevation, Germany, and high-growth channels. Brandt spent more than 20 years at Unilever before joining Kraft Heinz.
Bruno Keller will be elevated to the role of President, West and East Emerging Markets. Keller has been with Kraft Heinz since 2014 and has held several roles, including Managing Director for South Europe, President, Canada, and most recently, President, Latin America, where he has driven significant top-line growth, accelerated profitability and sales, and increased market share across all Latin America countries. He also championed the introduction of Agile Methodology across the business unit, accelerating the innovation agenda and implementing The Kitchen – an in-house marketing agency – in every LATAM market, enhancing the brand building capabilities in the region.
Cory Onell will be elevated to Chief Omnichannel Sales & Asia Emerging Markets Officer. Onell will lead global omnichannel sales and go-to-market capabilities and tools to unlock growth across developed and emerging markets. Because of the uniqueness of Asia, specifically with its Go-To-Market Model, Asia Emerging Markets will be a standalone zone led by the Omnichannel Officer. Onell has been with Kraft Heinz since 2020 in the role of President of U.S. Sales. In that role, he has embedded an omnichannel mindset and structure and strengthened our sales capabilities in the North America Zone. Prior to Kraft Heinz, Onell held various sales leadership roles at other consumer packaged goods companies, including Campbell’s and Mondelēz.
Diana Frost will be elevated to Chief Growth Officer. Frost will be responsible for accelerating growth globally through the Company’s long-term plan, building brands through marketing excellence, and transforming the product portfolio through disruptive innovation. Frost has been with Kraft Heinz since 2020, most recently as Chief Growth Officer for North America, where she established cross-functional marketing capabilities and measurement and built an accelerated agile pipeline of brand innovation. Frost also drove a global culture of collaboration and creativity, resulting in 21 Cannes Lions Awards in 2023. Prior to Kraft Heinz, Frost spent nearly 13 years at Mars.
“I am incredibly proud these are internal elevations as it reflects the quality of the talent and focus on people development at Kraft Heinz,” said Abrams-Rivera. “I’m thrilled to welcome Pedro, Willem, Bruno, Cory and Diana in their new roles, and I am confident these are the leaders to help take Kraft Heinz to the next level and power our growth as we set our course to lead the future of food.”
Each of the new members of the Executive Leadership Team will assume their roles at the beginning of fiscal year 2024.
About The Kraft Heinz Company
We are driving transformation at The Kraft Heinz Company (Nasdaq: KHC), inspired by our Purpose, Let's Make Life Delicious. Consumers are at the center of everything we do. With 2022 net sales of approximately $26 billion, we are committed to growing our iconic and emerging food and beverage brands on a global scale. We leverage our scale and agility to unleash the full power of Kraft Heinz across a portfolio of six consumer-driven product platforms. As global citizens, we're dedicated to making a sustainable, ethical impact while helping feed the world in healthy, responsible ways. Learn more about our journey by visiting www.kraftheinzcompany.com or following us on LinkedIn.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains a number of forward-looking statements. Words such as “activate,” "design," “develop,” “elevate,” “focus," “will,” and variations of such words and similar future or conditional expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts and are based on Kraft Heinz's current beliefs, expectations, estimates, and projections. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and beyond Kraft Heinz's control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Those factors include, but are not limited to, the Company’s ability to achieve the intended benefits of projects and changes, its ability to retain key personnel, , and the risk factors set forth in the Kraft Heinz's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. Kraft Heinz disclaims and does not undertake any obligation to update, revise, or withdraw any forward-looking statement in this press release, except as required by applicable law or regulation.
