5 Snack, Candy Leadership Moves We’re Watching

CHICAGO — Some of the major snack and candy companies have seen changes to their c-suites in the past few months.

From an industry veteran leaving Campbell Snacks to work at Kraft Heinz to a former Target executive going to work at Mondelez, here are the leadership changes we’re watching …

An industry veteran who has worked for Campbell Soup Co., Mondelez International and Kraft Foods is joining the ranks at Kraft Heinz Co.

Carlos Abrams-Rivera will be the new U.S. zone president at Kraft Heinz, Chicago, as of Feb. 3. He will lead all U.S. business operations.

Kraft Heinz CEO Miguel Patricio had been interim president of the U.S. zone, in addition to his global duties.

Abrams-Rivera most recently was executive vice president and president of Campbell Snacks. Mark Clouse, president and CEO, will lead the Campbell Snacks division until a new leader is in place, according to Campbell Soup.

Several new leaders are joining The Hershey Co.’s executive management team, according to Michele Buck, chairman, president and CEO of the Hershey, Pa.-based company.

“Hershey continues to advance its vision of becoming an innovative snacking powerhouse, and these executive changes elevate proven commercial operators into leadership roles that will create strong business continuity, enhance strategic and analytical expertise, and bring fresh perspectives to take our business to the next level of sustainable growth,” Buck said.

Leaders who joined Hershey’s executive leadership team:

• Chuck Raup: President, U.S.
• Kristen Riggs: Chief growth officer
• Chris Scalia: Senior vice president, chief human resources officer
• Hector de la Barreda: President, Amplify

Steve Voskuil, chief financial officer, will also lead Hershey’s technology efforts after Terry O’Day, senior vice president, chief technology and data officer, retires at the end of March.

Mondelez has hired a former Target executive, who started his new role Jan. 13. 

Minsok Pak is the Deerfield, Ill.-based company’s executive vice president, chief strategy and transformation officer. He also leads SnackFutures, Mondelez’s innovation and venture hub.

Pak came from Target, where he worked as its executive vice president and chief strategy and innovation officer. He oversaw the retailer’s enterprise strategy and innovation efforts and helped lead the development and implementation of the company’s growth strategy.

The J.M. Smucker Co., Orrville, Ohio, is making several changes to its leadership team.

Vice Chair and CFO Mark Belgya will retire in September and be succeeded May 1 by Tucker Marshall, vice president of finance. Marshall will take on the role of senior vice president and deputy CFO and will be an officer of the company.

The company also has a new executive leadership structure that it said is designed to sharpen the company’s focus on strategic initiatives, enhance accountability for business delivery, streamline decision-making and enable great agility to ensure delivery of strategic and financial priorities.

The new structure includes:

• A chief operating officer role, for which the company was in the search process at the time of the November announcement.
• Geoff Tanner, senior vice president, growth and consumer engagement, has been promoted to chief marketing and commercial officer and will expand his responsibilities to include U.S. retail sales and market development.
• Jill Penrose, senior vice president, human resources and corporate communications, has been named chief people and administrative officer. Her role now includes information services.
• Amy Held, senior vice president, corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions and international, has been promoted to chief strategy and international officer.
• Jeannette Knudsen, senior vice president, general counsel and secretary, has been promoted to chief legal and compliance officer and secretary.

Stryve has promoted Jaxie Alt to co-CEO. Alt joined the company, known for its healthy snack foods and beef biltong, in March 2019 as chief marketing officer. She previously spent 17 years with Keurig Dr Pepper.

Alt has helped Plano, Texas-based Stryve double annual revenue and establish itself as the top-selling biltong brand in the United States at traditional retail and online, according to the company. As co-CEO, she will work with co-CEO Joe Oblas and continue to oversee marketing efforts as Stryve expands its footprint.

The company also added three executives to its leadership team: Chief Operating Officer Alex Hawkins, Chief Financial Officer Billie Winkle and Chief Sales Officer Bruce Boettner.