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MINNEAPOLIS — General Mills has promoted Jeffrey Harmening to president and chief operating officer.
Jeffrey Harmening
The food company said Thursday that Harmening, currently executive vice president and COO, will add the president’s title effective July 1 and continue to report to chairman and chief executive officer Ken Powell. Plans call for Harmening’s successor to be announced at a later date.
In the new role, the 49-year-old Harmening will be responsible for all company operations, including U.S. retail, international, convenience stores and foodservice segments; sales and channel development; global supply chain; and innovation, technology and quality functions.
A 22-year veteran of General Mills, Harmening has served as the executive vice president and COO of the $10 billion U.S. retail segment since May 2014.
Previously, he was CEO of Cereal Partners Worldwide (CPW), the company’s Switzerland-based joint venture with Nestlé. In that role, he was responsible for the nearly $2 billion global cereal business that distributes products to more than 130 countries outside North America.
Harmening has also served as president of the General Mills cereal operating unit and in various U.S. marketing roles.
“Jeff has a wide range of experience in both the U.S. and internationally,” Powell stated. “The timing is right to bring together overall operations under one leader. Jeff is well-positioned to accelerate our global ‘Consumer First’ strategy to drive both growth and profitability.”
General Mills’ lineup of brands includes Cheerios, Annie’s, Yoplait, Nature Valley, Fiber One, Häagen-Dazs, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Old El Paso, Wanchai Ferry and Yoki, among others. The company totaled sales of $18.7 billion worldwide in fiscal 2015.
