Mondelez International has recently announced Dirk Van de Put will replace Irene Rosenfeld as the CEO of the confectionery giant when she leaves the company in November 2017.
Van de Put is currently the president and CEO of McCain Foods. He has almost 30 years of experience in the FMCG industry. During his six-year tenure as CEO of McCain Foods, he grew net sales by more than 50 per cent, generating more than 75 per cent of that growth organically.
He formerly held positions at Novartis, Groupe Danone, The Coca-Cola Company and Mars. He graduated with a doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Gent in Belgium and a post-graduate in marketing and management from the University of Antwerp.
“I am very proud of what our 90,000 colleagues at Mondelez International have accomplished,” said chairman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld.
“Throughout my tenure as CEO, the world and our industry have undergone a period of unprecedented change. During that time, we anticipated emerging challenges, adapted accordingly and created significant value for our shareholders. The outlook is bright for this great company — one of the few that has consistently delivered on both the top and bottom lines, while making critical investments for future growth.
“The Board and I are confident that Dirk Van de Put is the right leader to take us forward. He is a seasoned global CEO, having lived and worked on three different continents, with deep experience and expertise in all critical business and commercial operations in both emerging and developed markets.”
Rosenfeld will continue as chairman of the board until March 31, 2018.
“On behalf of the entire Mondelez International Board, we want to welcome Dirk and [we] are excited to begin working with him to lead the company through its next chapter of growth,” said Mark Ketchum, lead independent director of Mondelez.
“Our thorough, multi-year succession process has identified [him] as the right leader with a distinct combination of skills and industry experience necessary to succeed as our next CEO. Our process was global in nature and thoroughly considered numerous highly talented internal and external candidates before making our final decision.
“We also want to thank [Rosenfeld] for the vision and leadership she brought to building this great company. Over the past decade, she changed the face, footprint and growth prospects of Kraft Foods and then created Mondelez, by reinvigorating the company’s iconic brands, transforming the portfolio, strengthening the company’s presence in emerging markets and aggressively improving margins.”
Pinar Hosafci, packaged food analyst at Euromonitor International, has also commented that Rosenfeld’s departure follows the aftermath of the snack company’s “failed attempt to take over Hershey and comes amid stagnant organic sales growth as consumers reach for healthier options over processed foods.”
“[It is most likely] 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 at,” said Hosafci.