Kraft Heinz Gets New CEO

April 22, 2019
Kraft Heinz has named a veteran consumer packaged goods executive to be its new CEO.

Kraft Heinz has named a veteran consumer packaged goods executive to be its new CEO, replacing Bernardo Hees, who is leaving after two years at the helm.

Miguel Patricio, a former chief marketing officer for Anheuser-Busch InBev, will take over at Kraft Heinz effective July 1. Patricio has 30 years of experience at CPG companies including Philip Morris International, Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson.

Patricio is taking over at a challenging time for Kraft Heinz, which has been beset by consumer preferences moving away from the center-store staples it specializes in. The company’s stock dropped 27% in February, and it sustained a loss of more than $10 billion for 2018.

Patricio told the Wall Street Journal that he plans to move Kraft Heinz in a new direction, away from the cost-cutting that has dominated its strategy for the last few years.

Hees has been head of Kraft Heinz since the company was created by merger in 2015. He previously had headed Heinz since its acquisition in 2013 by private equity firms 3G Capital and Berkshire Hathaway. 3G also owns a major stake in Anheuser-Busch InBev.

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