Miguel Patricio has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Kraft Heinz Company, effective July 1. He will succeed Bernardo Hees, who will remain CEO until June 30 to assist with the leadership transition.
Hees is leaving the company at a challenging time. The company’s share price plummeted more than 27% to a record low in February. In the full year ended Dec. 29, 2018, Kraft Heinz sustained a loss of US$10,229 million, which compared with income of US$10,999 million, equal to $9.03 per share on the common stock, in fiscal 2017. In the fourth quarter, Kraft Heinz sustained a loss of $12,608 million, which compared with income of $8,003 million, or $6.57 per share, in the same period a year ago.
Hees has been CEO since the Kraft Heinz Co. was created in 2015 through the merger of Kraft Foods and H.J. Heinz. He had been with Heinz since 2013.
Patricio joins Kraft Heinz from beverage company Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), where he was most recently Chief Marketing Officer. Earlier in his career he was Global Marketing Director for The Coca-Cola Co. and Global Marketing Director for Johnson & Johnson.
