Kraft Heinz Co on Wednesday named Campbell Soup Co executive Carlos Abrams-Rivera as the leader of its US business, the Heinz ketchup maker's latest executive hire as it aims to revitalise its business after a troubling year.
New Kraft Heinz CEO Miguel Patricio had been managing the Chicago-based company's US business since he took over in July. The unit, which makes Oscar Mayer bacon and Velveeta cheese, is Kraft Heinz's biggest contributor to sales.
Abrams-Rivera, 52, has previously worked at Kraft Heinz and Mondelēz International Inc and will start his new role at Kraft Heinz in February. Most recently, Abrams-Rivera managed Campbell's snacks division.
Over the past year, Kraft Heinz has withdrawn its full-year outlook, written down the value of several key brands and assets by more than $15 billion and struggled to overcome competition from retailers' private-label brands.
It also disclosed in February that it had been subpoenaed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission over an investigation into the company's accounting practices.
Aiming to revitalise Kraft Heinz, Patricio, a veteran marketing executive, was brought in from Anheuser-Busch InBev. Since Patricio's move was announced in April, Kraft Heinz's chief marketing officer Eduardo Luz has stepped down and is yet to be replaced.
The company's head of finance David Knopf has also left and earlier this week, Kraft Heinz named Flavio Torres its new head of global operations.
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