Yahoo Finance Kraft Heinz chief executive Bernardo Hees is leaving the company
The chief executive of Kraft Heinz is set to leave his post in June, the global food giant has announced.
Bernardo Hees, who has led the firm for the past six years, oversaw the acquisition of Heinz in 2013 and the subsequent Kraft Heinz merger.
He will be replaced by Miguel Patricio, the Portuguese former chief marketing officer of drinks firm Anheuser-Butsch InBev, where he helped drive significant growth for the Corona, Budweiser and Stella Artois brands.
The chair of the Kraft Heinz board thanked Hees for leading the company “through its first phase” and said the outgoing CEO had “achieved industry-leading margins and sales.
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“I would like to thank Bernardo personally, and on behalf of the Board, for his many contributions to Kraft Heinz over the last six years,” said board chair Alex Behring.
The company did not give further details about the reasons for Hees’ departure, but it comes only a few months after the company took a £11.8bn ($15.4bn) writedown on its Kraft, Oscar Mayer and other brands.
It has also slashed its dividend, and admitted that the US Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating its accounting methods.
The change of leadership, the most significant in the new firm’s short history, could see a change of direction for the company after years of cost-cutting that have “left its brand in a weaker position to compete,” according to Reuters.
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Mr Hees said: “It has bee ofn an honour to serve as CEO of Kraft Heinz and to see it through its transformation over the last six years. I have confidence that Miguel and the team will take Kraft Heinz to new heights.”
A statement released by Kraft Heinz said its new CEO had “deep experience” growing businesses in both developed and emerging markets, as a former president of the North American and then Asia Pacific divisions of AB InBev.
The new CEO has also worked for Philip Morris, the Coca-Cola Company and Johnson & Johnson in locations around the world.
“Miguel is a proven business leader with a distinguished track record of building iconic consumer brands around the globe, driving top-line revenue growth through a focus on consumer-first marketing, innovation, and people development,”said Behring of the new appointment.
Heinz employs 2,100 people across the UK and Ireland, and produces iconic British products including its ketchup and baked beans at Europe’s largest food factory, near Wigan.
