Clarke to Leave Kraft Foods Management Role to Become Premier Foods CEO

"We sincerely thank Mike for his contributions to turning around our European business, which has now delivered five consecutive quarters of top- and bottom-line growth," Rosenfeld said.

7/14/2011 --- Kraft Foods has announced that Michael A. Clarke, Executive Vice President and President, Kraft Foods Europe, will leave the company in mid-August to take a senior executive position with the U.K.-based public company Premier Foods. Kraft Foods has named Timothy P. Cofer, 42, to succeed Clarke. Cofer will report to Chairman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld and become a member of the Kraft Executive Team. He will be based in Zurich, Switzerland.

"We sincerely thank Mike for his contributions to turning around our European business, which has now delivered five consecutive quarters of top- and bottom-line growth," Rosenfeld said. "It's disappointing to say good-bye to a talented colleague, but we respect Mike's decision, which will allow him to be closer to his family in the U.K. We wish him the very best."

Rosenfeld continued, "Fortunately, we have a strong bench, and Tim is a talented and highly successful leader who can quickly transition into this role. Tim has nearly 20 years with the company. He has experience in multiple categories and geographies, including intimate knowledge of our European and global chocolate businesses. I'm confident that Tim's expertise and leadership skills will enable him to seamlessly build on the great results that our European team has been delivering."

Cofer began his career with the company in 1992 and has progressed through a number of marketing, strategy and general management roles. Most recently, he has served as Senior Vice President, Global Chocolate Category Team. Prior to this, Cofer was Senior Vice President, Strategy and Integration, leading the global integration team following the acquisition of Cadbury in early 2010. Cofer was the architect of the company's European chocolate category model (2003-2006). His career has also included successful tenures leading the Oscar Mayer business (2007) and the company's U.S. pizza business (2008-2010), where he delivered significant revenue growth, margin expansion and consistent market share gains.

Cofer earned his MBA from the University of Minnesota and his bachelor's degree in economics and political science from St. Olaf College.

Meanwhile Premier Foods announced the appointment of Mike Clarke, as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Company with effect from 1 September 2011.

Mike is one of the most senior executives in the European food industry. In his role at Kraft he was responsible for managing the group’s entire European business, with revenues of $13 billion, 58 manufacturing sites and 25,000 employees, reporting directly to Kraft’s Chairman & CEO.

Prior to taking up his role at Kraft Foods Europe, in 2009, Mike was President of The Coca-Cola Company, Northwest Europe (including the UK) & Nordics and was with the company for 12 years in a number of senior roles. Previous to this, Mike was Vice President for Reebok South Asia/Pacific and began his early career as a Chartered Accountant in South Africa with Deloitte. He graduated with a degree in Commerce from the University of Cape Town.

As previously announced, Robert Schofield, the current CEO, is retiring from the Company and will now leave the business following a short handover.

Ronnie Bell, Chairman, Premier Foods, said: "I am delighted to welcome Mike as CEO.  He has had a significant and successful career in the food and drinks industry and brings with him a wealth of strategic brand experience combined with a strong financial and operational background.  He has an impressive track record and I very much look forward to working with him as we focus on delivering our branded growth strategy and continuing to reduce debt.”

“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Robert for his continuous commitment to Premier Foods over the last ten years and to wish him all the best for the future.”

Mike Clarke, said: “I am enormously excited about the prospect of joining Premier Foods with its powerful portfolio of brands. I look forward to working with Ronnie, the Board and Management to drive the growth of the business and ensure that it delivers on its tremendous potential.”