Mondelēz tapped its head of supply chain strategy to lead the snack giant’s global operations, the company disclosed in its Q3 earnings report.
Frank Cervi has assumed the role of chief supply chain operations officer, CEO Dirk Van de Put said on an earnings call Tuesday. He replaces Sandra MacQuillan, who is retiring as chief supply chain officer after three years.
“Frank is a proven leader, bringing more than 30 years of global supply chain experience to the table,” Van de Put said. “He has a strong drive for executional excellence, tackling big challenges and pursuing continuous improvement.”
Van de Put also announced that Daniel Ramos will take over as chief research and development officer following the retirement of Rob Hargrove in January. Ramos comes from Estée Lauder Companies, where he focused on sustainable packaging.
The leadership changes come as the company reports supply chain improvements after production hiccups at manufacturing plants led to stock-outs of certain products. Mondelēz had prioritized key SKUs and simplified operations to better position the company to fill orders, and reported fewer out-of-stocks as a result.
Still, turnover at the company’s manufacturing plants continues to be high and the CPG noted some challenges with cross-border transportation between the U.S. and Mexico. Costs of packaging and commodities including dairy, wheat and edible oils also remain elevated.
Mondelēz will raise prices in key markets to offset the costs. The maker of Ritz crackers and Oreos already raised prices in Europe, and is preparing to follow suit in the U.S. in December.
