Kraft Foods revamped its marketing staff yesterday, naming Jeri Finard as its first-ever CMO and merging its global marketing unit with global category development.
The merger prompted Kraft’s top marketing exec, Paula Sneed, to resign her post as executive VP of the global marketing division. Sneed has been with Kraft for 29 years; she’s been executive VP of Global Marketing Resources & Initiatives for 15 months.
Kraft also named Rick Searer to replace Dave Johnson as the head of its North America division as the company decentralizes control of its five business divisions in the region.
As CMO, Finard will oversee the new Consumer Innovation and Marketing Services Group, which absorbs the global marketing division formerly run by Sneed and the category development division run by Finard, who took charge there just five months ago. That latter group looks at consumer trends globally to pinpoint growth potential for product categories. (Kraft’s global ad campaign for Philadelphia cream cheese began with trend insight from the division.)
Finard, a 20-year Kraft veteran, picks up responsibility for media, advertising, consumer promotions, marketing alliances, digital and relationship marketing, packaging and brand design and consumer relations—all formerly handled by the global marketing group.
Meanwhile, Searer becomes executive VP and president of Kraft North America Commercial. The five division presidents report to him (Beverages, Cheese & Dairy, Convenient Meals, Grocery, Snacks & Cereals), and the head of North America Foodservice, will have “significantly more authority to run their respective businesses,” per Kraft.
Searer, a 25-year Kraft veteran, had been group VP and president of the convenient meals unit, the fastest-growing division in the region.
It’s too early to tell how the new structure will affect marketing budgets and agency relationships, a spokesperson said. Kraft spends just over $1 billion a year on measured media, per TNS Media Intelligence.
The shakeup comes less than three months after CEO Irene Rosenfeld took the helm from Roger Deromedi (PROMO Xtra, June 27, 2006). Rosenfeld, a 20-year Kraft veteran, returned to Kraft from Frito-Lay, where she had been CEO for nearly two years.
Other changes include the planned retirement early next year of Hugh Roberts as executive VP and president of Kraft International Commercial; an external search for his replacement is under way. David Brearton becomes executive VP-global business services and strategy; Marc Firestone takes the new post of executive VP-corporate and legal affairs, and general counsel.
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