Mondelez CEO Irene Rosenfeld To Retire In November
Mondelez International CEO Irene Rosenfeld will retire in November, bringing an end to her time at the helm of the $26 billion global snack and candy company known for brands like Oreo cookies and Ritz crackers, the company announced Wednesday.
She'll be replaced by Dirk Van de Put, who's currently president and CEO of Canada-based McCain Foods, a global frozen potato company.
As one of the relatively few female CEOs of a Fortune 500 company, Rosenfeld, 64, cut costs, overhauled the company's global supply chain network and worked to position Mondelez for growth in a changing food industry.
Rosenfeld became CEO of Kraft in 2006, orchestrated a hostile takeover of Cadbury in 2010 and then oversaw the spin-off of Kraft Foods, the North American grocery portion of the company, from the newly formed Mondelez.
Rosenfeld also attempted a $23 billion acquisition of Hershey last summer but ultimately failed. That tie-up made good strategic sense, Rosenfeld said in an interview Wednesday, but "it takes two to tango."