Campbell Soup Company, Camden, NJ, has unveiled a strategic reorganization that aims to better position the company to capitalize on the rapidly changing food industry landscape, while more closely aligning the business with the company’s three growth strategies: optimize the value of the core; increase health and well-being food, beverages and snacks; and, accelerate distribution and new business models.
 
This new structure organizes Campbell’s core business operations—including its soup, simple meals and shelf-stable beverages portfolios and its snacks portfolio—under the leadership of Luca Mignini as chief operating officer (COO). Campbell will create a new Accelerator unit to continue to expand in faster-growing spaces and invest in high-growth areas. As part of the reorganization, Campbell Fresh will become part of the Accelerator unit to realize the growth potential of the packaged fresh category. The new unit will also be responsible for long-term innovation, small brand incubation, future consumer experiences, e-commerce and new distribution models.
 
Denise Morrison, Campbell’s president and chief executive officer said, “The transformative Snyder’s-Lance acquisition served as a catalyst for us to re-examine how to best organize the company for increased emphasis on execution and profitable growth. This strategic reorganization—focused on our core, the integration of recent acquisitions, the Campbell Fresh turnaround and long-term growth—provides the right structure for us to optimize the value of our businesses today, while creating future-oriented capabilities. It will simplify our operations, improve our execution and enable us to allocate resources with a greater focus on profitable growth.”
 
Mr. Mignini, Campbell’s president, Global Biscuits and Snacks, will gain additional responsibilities and has been named COO. Mr. Mignini will continue to report to Ms. Morrison. He joined Campbell in 2013 as president, Campbell International. Previously, he spent more than two years as the CEO of the Findus Italy division of IGLO Group, Europe’s largest frozen food business. Before that, Mr. Mignini worked at SC Johnson for more than 20 years.
 
Ms. Morrison said, “Since joining Campbell, Luca has proven himself a superb strategist and strong executor with a keen understanding of the critical details of all our businesses. He has led our best-performing division, Global Biscuits and Snacks, and helped engineer the acquisition of The Kelsen Group and more recently Snyder’s-Lance. I am confident in Luca’s ability to lead our core businesses, oversee the integration of Pacific Foods and Snyder’s-Lance, and deliver improved execution and performance.”
 
In addition to continuing to oversee the Global Biscuits and Snacks portfolio, including Arnott’s, Kelsen, the recently created Campbell Snacks unit (the combined Pepperidge Farm and Snyder’s-Lance brands) and the simple meals and shelf-stable beverages business in Asia Pacific and Australia, Mr. Mignini will now also lead the following businesses and functions:

• Campbell’s Meals and Beverages, which includes the company’s soup, simple meals and shelf-stable beverages portfolio, as well as the Plum, Pacific Foods, North America Food Service, Canada and Latin America businesses;
• The company’s U.S. Sales organization; and,
• The global product development group within Research and Development.

Mr. Mignini said, “Creating a single organization across Campbell’s core businesses will make us more agile and lead to more effective portfolio management to ensure that resources are invested in the areas with the greatest growth potential. I am confident this simplified model will position these businesses for better performance going forward. My immediate focus is on maintaining momentum in our existing snacks portfolio, integrating Snyder’s-Lance and Pacific Foods, and stabilizing the U.S. soup portfolio.”
 
Campbell is also creating a new unit focused on accelerating innovation, driving long-term growth and developing new business models that will shape the future of food. The Accelerator will consist of the Campbell Fresh business, the company’s existing Digital and e-Commerce unit and a network of cross-functional teams that can be rapidly deployed against key growth priorities. It will include important capabilities and functions spanning strategy, innovation, consumer experience and new distribution models.
 
Ms. Morrison said, “Campbell’s Accelerator unit is designed to drive growth and build critical capabilities with an agile and dynamic operating model that, over time, will expand to other parts of the company and become the way we work in the future.”
 
The company has initiated an external search for a Chief Acceleration Officer (CAO), reporting to Ms. Morrison, to lead the new unit and to fast-track transformation and future growth opportunities. The Accelerator unit will include:

• Consumer Experience: responsible for identifying the foresights, insights, culinary and consumer trends across Campbell categories that will drive future growth and deliver modern marketing capabilities and services.
• Long-term Innovation: responsible for filling the innovation funnel by creating new categories, product platforms and business models. This group will also include Campbell’s Science and Technology organization.
• Small Brand and Startup Incubation: responsible for leading the creation, incubation and development of small brands and startups, as well as the identification and cultivation of external partnerships.

Campbell’s established Digital and e-Commerce unit will become part of the Accelerator. The team will continue to lead enterprise e-Commerce strategy and capabilities, scale digital marketing efforts and help to develop more agile and flexible distribution models.
 
Campbell Fresh will also become part of the Accelerator unit to maintain focus on turning the business around and to achieve growth rates consistent with the packaged fresh category. Campbell Fresh includes Bolthouse Farms portfolio of refrigerated beverages and salad dressings; Garden Fresh Gourmet salsa, hummus, dips and tortilla chips; the U.S. refrigerated soup business; and, fresh carrots and carrot ingredients. The Campbell Fresh team remains focused on returning its CPG business to profitable growth with an emphasis on innovating the Bolthouse Farms refrigerated beverage portfolio, while increasing health and well-being convenient meals and snacks.
 
In other company announcements, Campbell named Ana Dominguez, as president, Campbell Fresh. She will report to Ms. Morrison until a CAO is named. Ms. Dominguez joined Campbell in 2014 as president, Campbell Canada, from SC Johnson, where she worked since 1997 in marketing and management roles. She succeeds Ed Carolan, who is leaving Campbell to pursue another opportunity.
 
Emily Waldorf, has been promoted to senior vice president, Corporate Strategy, and will continue to lead enterprise strategy development, planning and measurement. She will also lead strategy for the Accelerator unit.  Carlos Barroso, senior vice president, Global Research and Development, will move to a strategic advisory role within the Campbell Snacks business. Bethmara Kessler, who previously served as senior vice president, Integrated Global Services, has left the company to pursue other opportunities. Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Anthony DiSilvestro will now oversee many of Campbell’s Integrated Global Services, including Financial Planning and Analysis and Information Technology.