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On The Move has the latest on hires and promotions at Hershey, Kellogg, JM Smucker and more.
(Illustration by The Current)
Welcome to On the Move. In this hiring-focused weekly feature, The Current is rounding up recent arrivals and departures at brands and retailers across the ecommerce, retail and CPG landscape.
This week, PVH Corp. sees a departure at Calvin Klein and the addition of a head of merchandising at Tommy Hilfiger. Meanwhile, Kellogg’s and Johnson & Johnson designate key leaders ahead of planned spinouts. Plus, meet new executives at Hershey, Mars Petcare and JM Smucker.
Check out all of this week’s leadership moves:
Trish Donnelly will be leaving her role as CEO of PVH Americas & Calvin Klein Global, PVH Corp. said Wednesday. Going forward, the Tommy Hilfiger parent intends to split the role into two positions. PVH Corp. CEO Stefan Larsson will serve in those roles while a search is conducted. The company also shared on Wednesday that it is planning layoffs, saying that it would “reduce people costs” by 10% by the end of 2023. In turn, it plans to invest in digital, supply chain and consumer engagement.
Nadia Azria was appointed to the role of chief merchandising officer at Tommy Hilfiger, effective Nov. 1. In the role, Azria will be the business lead for management and creation of all products at the brand. This includes overseeing merchandising, product development, buying and planning, operations and collaborations. Azria joined Tommy Hilfiger from Nike, where she most recently served as VP of merchandising for One Nike Market Place. She previously spent 13 years at Ralph Lauren.
Nadia Azria. (Courtesy photo)
Kellogg Company announced the leadership team for its new cereal company as it prepares to separate three of its businesses into standalone companies. The leadership team includes the following current Kellogg team executives:
Laurent Marteau is joining L’Occitane Group as managing director. Marteau brings experience from LVMH Group and La Prairie Group to the French beauty retailer. He will report to CEO André Hoffmann.
Larry Merlo was appointed non-executive chair designate of the new consumer healthcare company that is set to spin out from Johnson & Johnson in 2023. Merlo served as CEO of CVS Health from 2011-2021. The company previously announced that Thibaut Mongon will serve as CEO-designate of the company.
Aparna Chennapragada has been appointed to the board of directors at eBay. Chennapragada previously served as chief product officer of fintech firm Robinhood, and served as VP of AR and shopping at Google, where she led AI, visual search and product insights. With this move, former Facebook and Yahoo executive Katie Mitic is leaving the board.
Marlene Creighton. (Courtesy photo)
Marlene Creighton was promoted to global chief sales officer at The Hershey Company. Creighton will succeed Phil Stanley, who is leaving the confectionery leader after 26 years for another opportunity. Creighton joined Hershey four years ago, and has previous experience with P&G and Unilever.
Alex Cedeno. (Courtesy photo)
Alex Cedeno was hired as SVP of research and development at Mars Pet Nutrition North America. Bringing more than 28 years of experience, Cedeno previously served in a VP of R&D role at The JM Smucker Company. He also previously held innovation roles at Mead WestVaco and Procter & Gamble. He will succeed Michel Oostwal, who is retiring after 12 years with Mars Petcare.
Gagnesh Gupta. (Courtesy photo)
Gagnesh Gupta was named SVP of commodities and procurement at the JM Smucker Company, overseeing sourcing of ingredients and materials. Gupta brings experience from the The Kraft Heinz Company, Pinnacle Foods Inc., PepsiCo Inc., Whirlpool Corporation and Hudson's Bay Company. He is set to succeed Dan Nowicki, who is retiring in October.
Manish Choudhary was appointed president of SymphonyAI Retail CPG, a provider of AI-powered merchandising, marketing, and supply chain solutions for retailers and CPG manufacturers. The appointment comes as the company is changing its name to Symphony RetailAI. Choudary comes to SymphonyAI from Diebold Nixdorf, where he led a global software business for banking and retail customers. He succeeds Chris Koziol, who is leaving the company at the end of August.
The CPG is boosting advertising spend in 2023.
During tough times, people turn to sweet and salty snacks.
That idea was reiterated by Hershey on Thursday, as the CPG reported earnings that were headlined by a 16% increase in net sales for the year, and an 18.%% increase in adjusted earnings per share.
While Hershey benefitted from stay-at-home trends during the pandemic, CEO Michele Buck said people continued to turn to the company’s candy as the economic picture grew cloudier in 2022. That’s because chocolate and salty snacks are two of the top three resilient treats that consumers aren’t willing to skip, Buck said. It confirms recent findings by Mondelez that people are continuing to make room in their budget for snacks even as prices go up.
“Chocolate moments are such a heavily integrated part of consumers’ weekly routines, from rewarding moments to stress relief to self-care, and everything in between, that they indicate they would rather cut back on other expenses to make room for chocolate because they love it so much and it’s affordable,” Buck told analysts. “Salty snacks are another regular companion that consumers are hard-pressed to cut back out of their grocery budget. Not only are they affordable compared to other expenses, but they are key parts of both parents’ and kids’ daily routines.”
One reason for resilience is that chocolate and other sweets tend to be sought out in good times and bad. Buck acknowledged that this was essentially two opposing parts of the consumer brain.
“One is when they are incredibly happy and it's a treat time, and they want to treat themselves and the other is when there are downtimes, and they want a bright spot,” she said. “But they do view these categories and especially chocolate as a part of emotional wellness – what it does and how it makes them feel. “
With demand remaining in place and new capacity constraints coming online that will allow it to make more products to ensure it keeps up, Hershey is aiming to double down despite the economy. It expects to increase advertising levels in the double-digits this year, with a particular focus on Reese’s and Hershey’s, as well as gummies and better-for-you. It also looking to add fuel to salty snacks brands, as Skinny Pop, Pirate’s Booty and Dot’s have nearly doubled in recent years.
“People are connected to our brands. And during the tough times, we know that that connectivity leads to them continuing to buy,” Buck said. “So yes, it is important during an inflationary time.”