People on the Move
NATIONAL REPORT -- Kraft Foods Chairman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld will take on those same titles at its new global snacks company, while a Kraft executive vice president and a newcomer from the private equity world will lead the new grocery entity after the Northfield, Ill.-based food giant splits in two late next year.
Rosenfeld, 58, will be chairman and CEO of the global snacks company, with $31 billion in estimated revenue and a significant presence in numerous fast-growing, international markets.
W. Anthony (Tony) Vernon, 55, currently executive vice president and president of Kraft Foods North America, will become CEO of the $17-billion North American grocery company, one of the largest food and beverage companies on the continent. John T. Cahill, 54, currently an industrial partner of private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings LLC, will become non-executive chairman of the North American grocery company. Initially, he will serve as executive chairman, reflecting the tremendous effort required to launch and transition to a public company. Cahill will join Kraft in January to begin work on the separation.
“Irene, John and Tony are three of the finest executives in business today,” said Mark Ketchum, lead director of Kraft’s board of directors. “Their commitment to shareholder value, passion for brands and focus on sound financial management give the board great confidence in the future of the snacks and grocery companies.”
In other people news:
KSS Retail
KSS Retail, a global provider of price modeling, optimization and customer insights solutions, named Andy Kalamaras as its senior vice president, sales and professional services. His experience includes two decades of working with leading technology providers such as Accenture, Epicor, MicroStrategy and Guidance Software.
"As we ready [the] launch our next generation of PriceStrat capability, we are focused on delivering maximum value to our existing and future clients by transforming how they will optimize prices and promotions moving forward. In this environment, Andy is uniquely positioned to provide sales and service leadership globally to help meet our business objectives," said Yael Cosset, CEO of KSS Retail.
Most recently the Northeast regional sales director for Guidance Software, Kalamaras has also held the positions of director of sales at Microstrategy, CRM practice manager at FMT Consultants, senior consulting manager at Epicor Software, practice manager at Portera Systems and consultant at Accenture. He graduated from Michigan State University with a bachelor's degree in psychology and the University of Southern California with a Master of Business Administration, and has also served as a United States Army Intelligence Officer. He plans to relocate to Shreveport, La.
Manitowoc Foodservice
Steve Willoughby has been appointed to the position of vice president of marketing for Frymaster, effective Jan. 1. In this new role, he will drive sales growth through the development of product marketing strategies and business development initiatives, and lead product lifecycle management, new product introductions, sales and market share growth programs, according to Manitowoc.
Willoughby graduated from the College of Wooster with a bachelor's degree in economics and has more than 18 years of experience in the foodservice industry. His most recent position was senior product manager at the Delfield Co.
Master-Bilt
Scott Jordan became Master-Bilt’s new president as of Oct. 24. Previously, he served as vice president of operations and general manager for BKI, a Standex Food Service Equipment Group company, for more than three years. Jordan also has more than 16 years of experience working in manufacturing, quality assurance, purchasing, finance, strategic planning, plant management, marketing and lean continuous improvement roles with Baldor Electric.
Jordan holds an engineering degree from North Carolina State University and a Master of Business Administration from Clemson University. He plans to relocate to New Albany, Miss., with his family.
Heineken USA
Heineken USA appointed Catherine Vieira as senior director, trade marketing activation. Vieira will report to Kheri Tillman, vice president of trade marketing and sales strategy, and lead the development of all channel strategies and retail marketing programs for Heineken's brand portfolio.
Additionally, she will work with the trade marketing, field sales and category management teams to develop the overall channel and customer strategy and standards, and with the field sales and marketing services to deliver impactful channel-specific trimester programs for retail, Heineken said.
"We are thrilled to add Catherine's proven track record in trade and customer marketing to our Trade Marketing and Sales Strategy team," said Tillman. "Catherine's sales management experience will help guide the development of innovative retail programming and impactful customer and shopper strategies that influence retailers to carry and promote our brands."
Vieira's more than 20 years of experience in trade marketing, sales and account management include her most recent position as director of trade marketing for Boehringer-Ingelheim, Consumer Health Care. Other prior positions include director, trade marketing on-premise for Diageo, as well as positions of increased sales and customer and shopper marketing responsibility at Pepperidge Farm, Frito-Lay and Procter & Gamble.
She graduated from Northeastern University with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, and from Boston College with a Master of Business Administration.