Irene Rosenfeld, veteran FMCG executive and CEO of Mondelez International, ends a storied, decades-long career in the food industry.
Rosenfeld announced her retirement in August, and after 11 years, recently ended her tenure as Chief Executive of the snack food maker and its predecessor, Kraft Foods, known for brands such as Oreos, Ritz, Triscuits, Fig Newtons and many others sold around the world. “I set out to create the world’s greatest snacking company”, Rosenfeld said. “But the legacy I’m most proud of is the ethos of this company, where individuals care about one another, they have each other’s back and they care about the world they live in.”
Rosenfeld’s career with big food companies began in 1981, when she joined General Foods. That company was acquired by Philip Morris, which also owned Kraft, in 1985. Rosenfeld remained with the company until 2004. Then, following a two-year stint with the Frito-Lay division of PepsiCo., she re-joined it as Chief Executive of Kraft. She led the acquisition of British chocolatier Cadbury in 2010, and in 2012, divided the company in two and created Mondelez. Kraft focused on American staples, while Mondelez focused on a global snacks business. The latter now has $26 billion in annual sales and a market value of $63 billion, according to the New York Times.
The departure of a leader who for so long held high-ranking positions within the food industry could be seen as symbolic of the sweeping changes that are now transforming it. Consumer preferences continue to shift towards fresher, healthier and plant-based foods as well as smaller brands. Mondelez’s sales saw an uptick last month, but until that point had been dropping. The company’s stock has been flat for most of this year.
Over the course of her successful run, Rosenfeld took Mondelez into emerging markets in Asia and Latin America, and started adapting the company’s products to changing consumer demands. She acknowledged “an accelerating interest in well-being everywhere in the world,” and said Mondelez took the issue seriously. It removed genetically modified ingredients from Triscuits, started offering reseal-able packages of Oreos, and introduced relatively healthy brands like Véa.
Apart from her own achievements, Rosenfeld is known for having championed women leaders. A number of her female employees have gone on to become CEOs of major companies, including Denise Morrison of Campbell Soup and Michele Buck of Hershey. “I grew up in the industry at a time when there weren’t that many women and in key positions,” she said. “There was always a sense that we needed to work just a little harder, and we had to stand up for ourselves in the face of managers who weren’t as respectful as they ought to have been.”
The company, as well as Rosenfeld, say that the decision to step down was hers. The board was ready for change, however, and began its CEO search in spring. Dirk Van de Put, former President and CEO of McCain Foods, has taken the helm. Van de Put previously served as an Executive Vice President with Danone. He joined McCain as Chief Operating Officer in 2010, and was appointed as Chief Executive in 2011. Rosenfeld will continue as chairman until March 2018, at which point Van de Put will become chair.
