Food People: Sara Lee, Kraft, Cadbury

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BNET Food provides daily industry trends and news coverage with insights for managers and executives, focusing on the major companies in the food and beverage sector, from manufacturers to retailers. In addition to detailed company profiles, we bring you industry analysis on new alliances and partnerships, food products, mergers and acquisitions, contamination events, health risks, investments, and a host of other important business issues.

Sara Lee CFO to Step Down
In what the company says is “mutual decision” between himself and CEO Brenda Barnes, Theo de Kool, 56, will step down as Sara Lee’s finance chief when the fiscal year ends in June.

De Kool has been with the company since 1990, starting as head of finance for a Dutch subsidiary. He become CFO in 2002.

Analysts have complained about Sara Lee missing its forecasts a few times in recent years, Reuters reports. “More recently,” according to the news service, analysts were frustrated because the company suspended stock buybacks, only to reverse itself a day later. [Source: Reuters]

Coke Exec to Head Kraft’s Europe Division
Michael Clark, who headed Coca-Cola’s northern Europe and Nordic division, will take charge of Kraft’s European operations from Zurich, reporting to CEO Irene Rosenfeld.

Clarke, 44, worked for Coke for 12 years. Before that, he was a manager for Reebok International. [Source: AP]

New CFO for Cadbury
Andrew Bonfield, Bristol-Myer Squibb’s finance chief, has taken the same position at confectioner Cadbury.

Before Bristol-Myers, Bonfield worked for BG Group, an energy-exploration company, and as CFO of the former SmithKline Beecham, since merged with Wellcome to become GlaxoSmithKline. [Source: Accountancy Age]

Tags: test, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., GlaxoSmithKline Plc., Kraft Foods Inc., Coca-Cola Co., Sara Lee Corp., Food, Cadbury Schweppes Plc., CFO, De Kool, Financial Accounting, Finance, Dan Mitchell