Inside these posts: Irene Rosenfeld

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Kraft CEO’s pay falls 27% in 2010 on unmet goals

Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld speaks at a town hall meeting at Kraft's headquarters in Northfield, Feb. 5, 2010. (William DeShazer/Chicago Tribune)

Efforts at Kraft Foods to more closely align executive compensation with company performance took a large bite out of Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld’s 2010 pay package, the company disclosed Thursday in its annual proxy statement.

Rosenfeld’s overall compensation fell almost 27 percent, to $19.3 million, from $26.3 million in 2008, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Get the full story »

Kraft’s Rosenfeld a no-show in Cadbury probe

Creme Eggs move down the line at the Bournville production plant. (Christopher Furlong/Getty)

Executives from Kraft Foods Inc. appeared at a parliamentary hearing Tuesday over the company’s 11.9 billion-pound acquisition of confectioner Cadbury a year ago, but the absence of Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld drew criticism from lawmakers.

U.K. lawmakers on the Business, Innovation & Skills committee are discussing with Kraft — maker of Oreo cookies, Philadelphia cream cheese and Maxwell House coffee — the commitments it made a year ago following the takeover, as well as seeking reassurances on jobs and investment into research.

Last April, lawmakers said in a report that Northfield-based Kraft acted “irresponsibly” and “unwisely” during its acquisition of Cadbury and damaged its reputation in the U.K. Get the full story »

Kraft fourth-quarter profit hurt by costs; shares fall

Northfield-based Kraft Foods Inc. reported fourth-quarter earnings down 24 percent to $540 million. The company’s operating earnings, at 46 cents per share was in line with Wall Street expectations, but full-year earnings per share of $2.02 missed expectations by a penny.

The company’s shares fell 2.1 percent to $30.45 in after-hours trading. Get the full story »

Kraft names Sam Rovit head of strategy

Kraft Foods has chosen Sam Rovit to be its executive vice president of strategy. He replaces Michael Osanloo, who is now Kraft’s president of North American grocery.

Starting Jan. 29, Rovit will head Kraft’s strategy team, which works with the company’s various business units, to emphasize growth and savings targets. The team is also charged with improving performance in the company’s brands and its sales in the channels where they are sold, like supermarkets or gas stations.

As a member of Kraft’s executive team, he will report directly to chairman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld. Get the full story »

Starbucks-Kraft spat brewing since January

A feud between Starbucks Corp. and Kraft Foods Inc. over supermarket coffee sales has been brewing since at least January — far longer than Kraft has acknowledged — according to email exchanges between their top executives provided by Starbucks.

The rift became public last month, when the Seattle coffee company said it wanted to end its 12-year-old distribution deal with Kraft, which sells bags of Starbucks coffee in supermarkets and other stores. Get the full story »

FT: Kraft’s Rosenfeld world’s No. 4 business woman

Kraft CEO Irene Rosenfeld. (Tribune)

From the Financial Times | Kraft Foods Chief Executive Irene Rosenfeld appeared fourth on the Financial Times’ 2010 Women at the Top ranking of the world’s most influential female business leaders. Get the full story>>

Kraft names category chief of Cadbury units

Northfield-based Kraft Foods Inc. confirmed Tuesday that Mary Beth West, its chief marketing officer, has also taken on the role of chief category officer.

West has served as marketing chief for three years, and will now head the gum, candy, chocolate and business global category teams, along with Kraft’s multi-billion-dollar marketing division. She will continue reporting to chief executive officer Irene Rosenfeld.

Kraft confirmed West’s promotion, but did not provide further comment. Get the full story »

With Cadbury, Kraft pushes into China

Kraft Foods Inc. is seeking to raise the profile of Cadbury products in China as the U.S. food giant ramps up investments in developing markets, particularly the Asia-Pacific region, which has become Kraft’s key growth driver following its multi-billion dollar acquisition of the British confectioner earlier this year. Get the full story »

Kraft relying on Cadbury, emerging markets for growth

Kraft Foods Inc., the world’s biggest confectioner after buying Cadbury Plc, will start making Tang and chocolate next year at a new $50 million plant in Brazil, fueling expansion in faster-growing developing markets.

The move is part of Chief Executive Officer Irene Rosenfeld’s strategy to use Cadbury’s strength in those regions and prove to investors that the merger makes sense. Kraft now gets about one-quarter of its almost $50 billion in sales from emerging markets because of Cadbury. Get the full story »

Kraft earnings beat expectations; sales fall short

Kraft posted strong second-quarter earnings that beat analyst expectations by a penny, with earnings per share of 53 cents. Sales surged 25 percent, following the acquisition of Cadbury, to $12.25 billion. Still, the increase fell short of consensus, which was $12.33 billion. Get the full story »