Who Are The Food Industry's 10 Highest-Paid CEOs? (Slideshow)
10) Gary Rodkin, ConAgra
This Omaha-based packaged foods company makes and sells foods for supermarkets, restaurants, and food service establishments. Their brands include Healthy Choice, Hunt's, Orville Redenbacher's, Wesson oil, Swiss Miss, Reddi-Whip, PAM, and Hebrew National. The company's CEO, Gary Rodkin, took home $10,711,785 last year.
9) C. Larry Pope, Smithfield
The United States' largest pork processor was founded in 1936, and today it raises 15 million pigs annually and processes 27 million, producing more than 6 billion pounds of pork. Its president and CEO, C. Larry Pope, made $10,778,390 in 2013.
8) Brian P. Kelley, Keurig Green Mountain
Formerly Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, this company most likely roasts and distributes a lot of the coffee you drink, either home-brewed or in the form of those little K-cups. It's come a long way from its 1981 beginnings as a small café in Vermont; in 2013 its CEO Brian Kelley earned $13,373,551.
7) JP Bilbrey, Hershey
Everybody loves chocolate, and everybody knows Hershey. Last year its CEO, JP Bilbrey, made $13,825,686.
6) Irene Rosenfeld, Mondelēz International
If the name Mondelēz doesn't ring a bell, its earlier name, Kraft Foods, probably does. The name itself is essentially gibberish — it was spun off in 2012 to handle the global snack and food brands owned by Kraft, like Oreo, Triscuit, and Cadbury. Its CEO, Irene Rosenfeld, took home $13,994,780 last year.
5) Indra K. Nooyi, PepsiCo
Nooyi is the CEO and Chairperson of Pepsico, the second largest food and beverage business in the world. More than 20 of their brands have annual sales of more than $1 billion, including Pepsi, Lay's, Gatorade, Doritos, Tropicana, and Lipton teas. Even though Nooyi has come under fire from shareholders recently for failing to meet key internal performance targets, her 2013 salary was $14,280,877, down from $17.1 million the previous year.
4) Howard Schultz, Starbucks
The man who's largely responsible for building Starbucks into the multinational behemoth it is today, Howard Schultz raked in $17,242,507 last year.
3) Muhtar Kent, Coca Cola Co.
Coca-Cola obviously produces its namesake beverage, but the parent company also owns more than 500 brands including Sprite, Fanta, Capri Sun, Dasani, Nestea, Minute Maid, and Vitamin Water. Its CEO, Muhtar Kent, took home $20,380,660 in 2013.
2) Steve Ells, Chipotle
Chipotle is quickly becoming the gold standard for fast food, and it's all thanks to Steve Ells, the founder and CEO. He pays himself quite a hefty salary: $25,116,871 in 2013.
1) Irwin D Simon, Hain Celestial Group
The highest-paid CEO in the food industry may surprise you, especially if you've never heard of Hain Celestial. It's the parent company of many of the biggest natural and organic foods and personal care brands, including Celestial Seasonings, Soy Dream, Arrowhead Mills, Health Valley, Terra Chips, and Avalon Natural, and sales are through the roof. Its founder and CEO, Irwin Simon, was compensated to the tune of $26,426,555 in 2013, making him the highest-paid CEO in the food industry today.