Kraft Heinz is cutting senior leadership roles as part of an overhaul to its operating structure, which the food maker said will help accelerate growth and use resources more effectively.
The Philadelphia cream cheese and Jell-O owner said it will consolidate global businesses into the following three regions on July 1: North America, Europe and Pacific Developed Markets and Emerging Markets. Nico Amaya will continue to lead Kraft Heinz’s North America division, which includes the U.S. and Canada.
The company's procurement and supply chain will also be combined into one unit under Janelle Aydin, who will serve as global chief procurement and supply chain officer.
As part of the move, the company said Cory Onell, chief omnichannel sales and Asia emerging markets officer, and Flavio Torres, global chief supply chain officer, will depart the company. Both will remain at Kraft Heinz as advisors through a transition period.
“We are building momentum across many areas of the business, and this regional structure will help us meaningfully accelerate and scale our progress,” Steve Cahillane, CEO of Kraft Heinz, said in a statement. “This new structure positions Kraft Heinz to unlock the full potential of our portfolio and drive sustainable, volume-led growth across our global business.”
As consumers shift away from processed foods and cut down on spending due to inflation, few companies have been hit as hard as Kraft Heinz. Cahillane, former head of Kellanova, took over as Kraft Heinz’s CEO in January and wasted little time making changes to the storied food manufacturer.
Just a month after taking the helm, he surprised the market by halting plans to split Kraft Heinz’s condiment and grocery staples businesses, saying many of the food maker’s “challenges are fixable.”
He said the Heinz ketchup maker would spend $600 million on marketing, sales, research and development, as well as on improving “product superiority” and potentially lowering prices.
There are signs of a turnaround taking hold at Kraft Heinz. During its first quarter ended March 28, the company reported net income of $799 million, up from $714 million in the same period a year ago. Net sales rose 0.8% to $6.05 billion.
