MINNEAPOLIS -- General Mills has reorganized into four global groups, including one for convenience and foodservice.
Shawn O'Grady will be president of the Convenience Stores and Foodservice group, effective Jan. 1, 2017. O'Grady is also senior vice president of global revenue development and will oversee a new global revenue development group that includes strategic revenue management and e-commerce. He joined General Mills in 1990 and has held positions across the snacks, meals and Big G Cereals divisions. Most noteworthy was his work on Wheaties, which he led during the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Other group presidents are:
- Jon Nudi, North America Retail (U.S. and Canada)
- Bethany Quam, Europe & Australia
- Christina Law, Asia & Latin America
Each group president reports to Jeff Harmening, president and chief operating officer. Harmening reports to Chairman and CEO Ken Powell. As part of this new structure, the company is eliminating the position of international chief operating officer. The changes also may result in a loss of 400 to 600 positions worldwide, the company said.
General Mills aims to maximize its global scale and increase operational efficiency under the new structure.
“As we wrap up our 150th anniversary year, we are ready to take the next step in our journey to truly operate as a global company and fully resource our best ideas to drive growth,” Powell said.
In addition to the four business groups, the company is bringing its dairy strategic brand unit, which is based in France and led by Olivier Faujour, into the global structure. Faujour will report to Harmening and will work with the group presidents to explore opportunities to drive global growth and innovation for the dairy platform. General Mills holds No. 2 positions worldwide in both yogurt and superpremium ice cream, with brands such as Yoplait and Haagen-Dazs.
The company also said it intends to name a new global marketing leader, who will report to Harmening.
“The structural changes will help us unlock global growth opportunities and go after them by efficiently restructuring our teams and processes. In addition, the capability investments and savings generated by these changes will help us deliver our fiscal 2018," Harmening said in the company announcement.
General Mills is based in Minneapolis. Its brands include Cheerios, Annie’s, Yoplait, Nature Valley, Fiber One, Haagen-Dazs, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Old El Paso, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki and more.
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