Cahillane named Kellogg CEO as Bryant retires

29 Sep 2017 --- Kellogg Company’s board of directors has unanimously elected Steven A. Cahillane as CEO of the global cereal and snack company effective October 2, 2017, as current CEO John A. Bryant has decided to retire. Cahillane most recently served as President and CEO of health and wellness business The Nature's Bounty Co.

Cahillane will also join the company's Board of Directors, effective October 2. Bryant will continue as Executive Chairman of the Board until March 15, 2018, at which time Cahillane will assume the role of Chairman and CEO, according to Kellogg Company.

“During John’s tenure, Kellogg has transformed its portfolio,” Kellogg Company spokesperson Kris Charles tells FoodIngredientsFirst. “In 2000, our portfolio was 70 percent cereal, 20 percent snacks and 10 percent frozen foods. Today the company is more than twice the size.”

“Kellogg is still the world's largest cereal company, with cereal accounting for roughly 40 percent of that business, but today is also a global snacking company, with over 50 percent of the company sales in snacks,” Charles continues. “At the same time, the company made a number of significant and successful acquisitions, with a focus in snacking, emerging markets and natural foods. These included the Pringles global business, Parati in Brazil, Tolaram in Nigeria, to name a few.”

Confident in future
“It has been my pleasure to serve as the CEO of Kellogg Company over the past seven years,” Bryant (pictured, right) says. “I am even more confident in the future of our company today than at any other time in my 20 years with Kellogg. I've decided that the time is right to hand over the reins to a new leader, who can continue the transformation of this great company.”

“Today, it's my pleasure on behalf of the Kellogg Board to welcome Steve,” Bryant continues. “He is a proven leader with an exceptional track record of creating shareholder value. Steve has a tremendous history of success as the CEO of Nature's Bounty, a health and wellness company, as well as in senior leadership roles around the world at blue-chip consumer packaged goods companies including Coca-Cola and AB lnBev.”

Bryant adds: “I am confident that the strength of Steve's leadership, combined with the drive and talent of our management team and the passion of our incredible employees, will enable Kellogg to realize our vision and purpose while achieving our long-term growth goals.”

Cahillane has been President and CEO of Nature's Bounty since 2014. In this role, Kellogg points out that he successfully aligned the company with key health and wellness trends, established a thriving e-commerce division and created significant shareholder value.

Prior to this, Cahillane spent seven years with The Coca-Cola Co., most recently serving as President of Coca-Cola Americas, the global beverage maker's largest business with US$25 billion in sales.

Cahillane previously spent eight years with AB lnBev, the world's largest brewing company, in various senior leadership roles including Chief Commercial Officer, in which he led commercial strategy, global marketing, sponsorships, innovation and research following the 2004 merger of lnterbrew and AmBev.

“Kellogg is an incredible company with a rich legacy and iconic brands that are beloved around the world,” Cahillane says. “It will be my privilege and honor to work with such a talented group of employees as we pursue the tremendous growth opportunities before us.”

“There are many reasons to be excited about the Kellogg Company’s future,” says Charles, adding that Kellogg is well positioned to leverage four megatrends to drive top-line growth: snacking, health and wellness, emerging markets and growth in alternate channels, including e-commerce.

The company has also reaffirmed its full-year 2017 guidance for currency-neutral comparable net sales, operating profit, earnings per share and cash flow. The company confirmed that its transition out of direct stored remains on track and that its underlying sales trends are improving sequentially in Q3, as previously forecast. Meanwhile, its comparable-basis profit margins continue to improve, on the strength of its Project K and Zero-Based Budgeting initiatives.

By Paul Creasy