Food giant Kraft Heinz will enter 2024 with a new CEO. The company announced on Monday that Miguel Patricio will step down from his role as a CEO at the end of this year, with Carlos Abrams-Rivera taking over.
Patricio, who took over as CEO in 2019, is expected to remain involved in the company as a chairman. During his tenure, the company made efforts to diversify its offering, strengthen underperforming brands and revamp its marketing strategy.
Abrams-Rivera started his executive career with Kraft Foods, serving as the company’s director and president for several divisions. He later worked with Mondelez and Campbell Soup before rejoining Kraft Heinz as President of the U.S. Zone. He was promoted to Executive Vice President and President of North America Zone last year.
Abrams-Rivera will now face a tough challenge in addressing Kraft Heinz’s slumping sales and loss of market share to competitors. The company has been struggling in recent years to ramp up the demand for its products as consumers turned to cheaper alternatives.
Kraft Heinz stock saw a slight decline following the news about the CEO change, going down 1% compared to Friday’s close price of 34.55. The company’s shares are currently 16% down year-to-date.