Consumer Goods Veteran Tapped to Lead Pet and Consumer Businesses in
Newly Created Position
SAN FRANCISCO - October 26, 2011 - Del Monte Foods today announced the appointment of consumer goods veteran M. Carl Johnson, III as Executive Vice President, Brands, reporting to Chief Executive Officer David West. In November, Johnson will officially assume the newly created post, and will have operating responsibility for the Company's pet brands and the majority of its consumer brands, marketing and consumer insights groups, marketing services, research & development and innovation.
Johnson comes to Del Monte from Campbell Soup Company, where
he was senior vice president
& chief strategy officer, responsible for corporate strategy,
global research & development and quality, corporate
marketing services, licensing and e-business.
In that role, Johnson developed Campbell's strategies,
chaired the Campbell Growth Council, improved innovation
efforts, and led programs to build superior capabilities in
marketing, marketing services and research & development.
"I'm excited to have someone with Carl's credentials come on
board to lead our pet and consumer businesses," said David
West, Del Monte Foods Chief Executive Officer. "We created
this position to sharpen our consumer focus and build upon
our strong foundation of world-class brands. Carl's deep
experience and success with some of the country's most
well-known brands will help Del Monte further hone its brand
positioning, drive innovation and better position our brands
for long-term incremental growth."
Prior to joining Campbell, Johnson was a senior executive at
Kraft Foods, where he ran three successively larger Kraft
divisions from 1993-2001. When he departed Kraft in early
2001, he was executive vice president, Kraft N.A. and
president of the $2.5 Billion New Meals Division, which
included businesses such as Kraft Mac 'n Cheese, Kraft
Mayonnaise, Stove Top and DiGiorno refrigerated meals.
Prior to Kraft, Johnson was a senior partner and director of
the consumer goods and services consulting practice at
Marketing Corporation of America. Before that, he was vice
president of worldwide advertising at Polaroid Corporation.
He began his career at the Colgate-Palmolive Company, where
he held a series of management positions culminating in
category manager, oral care products.
Johnson serves as the non-executive chairman of Nautilus,
Inc., a leader in home fitness equipment, and on the board of
directors of Avedro, Inc., a pioneer in vision correction
technology. He is an advisory board member of the
Agricultural Sustainability Institute, University of
California, Davis. He is also a member of the Steering
Committee of the Kilts Center for Marketing at the University
of Chicago Booth Graduate School of Business, which
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provides scholarships to top marketing students and helps the
school steer its marketing curriculum.
Johnson received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Wesleyan
University and his MBA from the
University of Chicago.
"Del Monte Foods has world-class brands, a talented
organization and significant growth upside," said Johnson.
"I'm excited to join the Del Monte team and apply my skills
and experience to help deliver outstanding financial and
marketplace results."
Del Monte Foods is one of the country's largest producers, distributors and marketers of premium quality, branded pet products and food products for the U.S. retail market, generating approximately $3.7 billion in net sales in fiscal 2011. With a powerful portfolio of brands, Del Monte products are found in eight out of ten U.S. households. Pet food and pet snacks brands include Meow Mix®, Kibbles 'n Bits®, Milk-Bone®, 9Lives®, Pup-Peroni®, Gravy Train®, Nature's Recipe®, Canine Carry Outs®, Milo's Kitchen® and other brand names. Food product brands include Del Monte®, Contadina®, S&W®, College Inn® and other brand names. The Company also produces and distributes private label pet products and food products.
For more information on Del Monte Foods, visit the Company's
website at www.delmontefoods.com.
Del Monte. Nourishing Families. Enriching Lives. Every
Day®
Chrissy.stengel@delmonte.com
415-247-3420
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