Premier Lures Kraft Boss

by Mark Kleinman - 14/07/2011

"Premier Foods, the owner of Hovis and Angel Delight, has just confirmed my scoop from earlier this morning that it has lured Mike Clarke from Kraft Foods as its new chief executive."

Premier has been searching for a new boss for several months - urged by investors to identify a successor to Robert Schofield as quickly as possible.

Clarke will join in September, which will please shareholders anxious for change at the top of a company which has underperformed in share price terms for years.

Premier's announcement says:

"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."

Premier isn't commenting on Clarke's pay deal but it will be heavily-geared to achieving a successful turnaround of the business.

I've also obtained a copy of the internal announcement issued by Kraft yesterday, some of which I've pasted here:

"Mike Clarke, EVP and President, Kraft Foods Europe, is leaving the team to accept a senior executive position with a UK-based company. Tim Cofer, currently SVP, Global Chocolate Category Team, will succeed Mike, effective in mid-August."

As the boss of Kraft Europe, which includes the Cadbury business controversially taken over last year, Clarke oversaw a business with about $13bn in annual revenues. He's jumping ship to run a company with $2bn of revenues, a significant pile of debt and dire relations with some of its big shareholders.

That said, Premier does have a stable of attractive brands, and if Clarke can find a way of combating the perils of commodity price inflation and profitably shedding non-core brands, he will find investors backing him.

The other important part of Clarke's move is what it says about Kraft. His is the latest senior departure since the Cadbury takeover, which people close to the US-based group say has been fraught with integration-related difficulties.

And people inside Kraft are asking what this means for Trevor Bond, another senior executive who is said to have been the frontrunner for the role running the European business.

More Details: http://blogs.news.sky.com/kleinman/Post:64508c24-1164-460e-a8a4-c9bee99c8524