General Mills today (Sept. 30) announced Dana McNabb, longtime employee and currently the company’s chief operating officer, will succeed Jeff Harmening as CEO on Jan. 1, 2027. On that date, Harmening will become executive chair of the board of directors.

McNabb has been at the diversified food company 27 years, holding several senior leadership positions across the company in general management, enterprise strategy, marketing and international. As COO, she leads all four General Mills operating segments and key operating functions, including North America Retail, North America Pet, North America Foodservice, International, Sales, Supply Chain, and Innovation, Technology and Quality.

McNabb was group president of North America Retail starting in 2024 and added North America Pet to her responsibilities in 2025. She previously held roles as chief strategy & growth officer; group president of the Europe & Australia segment; president of the U.S. Cereal operating unit; and vice president of global marketing for Cereal Partners Worldwide, the company’s joint venture with Nestlé.

She started her General Mills career in Canada in 1999 and holds a bachelor's degree in commerce from the University of Ottawa and a master's degree in business administration from the London Business School.

“Following a robust, multi-year succession planning process, the board is confident that Dana is the right executive to lead the company through its next chapter of growth and value creation,” said Maria Henry, the board’s independent lead director.

“Dana has made significant contributions as a key member of the executive leadership of the company over the past few years, and across the business globally throughout her career,” Henry continued. “She has a strong track record of success, and a deep understanding of our consumers, our brands, our company and our industry. Dana is an outstanding leader with a clear strategic vision that she will translate into tangible outcomes for our shareholders, employees and the communities we serve.”

Henry also gave the usual thanks and congratulations to Harmening, who has been CEO since 2017 and has 32 years at the company. “The company has benefited from Jeff’s steadfast and calm leadership during nearly a decade of extraordinary and unprecedented circumstances,” she said.

McNabb’s appointment comes after a difficult, transitional year for Big G. It just ended its 2026 fiscal year on May 31 reporting an $88 million loss, the first in memory, and a 5% decline in sales; volumes in most of its reporting segments were down.

The overall sales decline was expected, given the sale of its Yoplait yogurt business to two different buyers. However, most – but not all – of the loss was attributable to special charges. All the numbers benefited from a 53^rd week in its reporting cycle. The company just completed the sale of its Brazil business at the start of this month.

“In the middle of its FY25, [General Mills] began to invest most notably in price but also across other facets of its Remarkability program, and in FY26 it broadened out these investments across its portfolio,” Max Gumport, senior analyst with BNP Paribas Equity Research, wrote in July.

“With the base price adjustments now behind it, GIS's focus for FY27 has clearly shifted to investing in benefit-led innovation and renovation along with packaging and communication ... which we view as the right approach amidst changing consumer preferences,” he continued. “Now the company must demonstrate these investments will pay off.”

General Mills’ full-year financial targets for fiscal 2027 include organic net sales between down 1.5% and up 0.5% and adjusted operating profit to be down by 8-13%, but adjusted diluted earnings per share to be $3.00-3.20 per share.

Add this news item to our August list of CEO churn at major food & beverage companies.