Dive Brief:
- Kraft Heinz on Wednesday named former Kellanova leader Nicolas Amaya as president of its North American business unit, the ketchup maker’s largest market.
- Amaya, former president of Kellanova’s North American business, replaces Pedro Navio, who will step down Feb. 22 after eight years in the position. Navio will serve as an advisor through March 6.
- The appointment comes a little more than a week after Kraft Heinz announced it would pause an intended corporate break up, with the Lunchable maker’s new CEO Steve Cahillane saying the company’s problems are “fixable.”
Dive Insight:
As new CEO Steve Cahillane looks to right the ship at Kraft Heinz, he’s tapping a familiar face from Kellanova for help.
Prior to joining Kraft Heinz in January, Cahillane was CEO of Kellogg and led the Pop Tarts and Pringles maker’s snacking spinout Kellanova before it was sold to Mars for $36 billion. While he joined Kraft Heinz for a repeat of his performance at Kellogg, Cahillane ultimately decided that the Oscar Mayer owner should invest more in its portfolio before committing to a split.
As head of Kraft Heinz biggest market, Amaya will be responsible for implementing much of Cahillane’s plans to return the company to growth. The company plans to invest $600 million on areas including marketing and “product superiority” to bring back consumers. It may also lower prices, a strategy deployed by other CPGs including General Mills and Pepsico.
Amaya, who started at Kellogg in 2001, has held a variety of leadership positions in the company’s U.S. and Latin America regions across its cereal, frozen and snacks businesses. As head of Kellanova’s North American operations, he advanced the company’s commercial strategy and operational performance, according to a Kraft Heinz release.
Cahillane said in a statement he has “worked closely” with Amaya for many years at Kellogg and Kellanova and has “great confidence in his ability to lead.”
“Nico is a proven leader with deep experience driving growth and transformation in complex, competitive markets,” Cahillane added. “As we continue to transform and build momentum across our North America business, Nico brings the right combination of commercial rigor, operational excellence, and people leadership to accelerate that progress.”
Kraft Heinz said organic net sales during its most recent quarter slumped 4.2% to $6.3 billion. Net sales for its upcoming 2026 fiscal year are projected to drop between 1.5% and 3.5% from the prior year.
