• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, December 5, 2011

Kraft Foods has announced that, when it completes the division of its business into two publicly traded companies next year, Irene Rosenfeld will serve as chairman/CEO of the global snacks business, and W. Anthony Vernon will become CEO of the North American grocery company.

Rosenfeld, 58, has 30 years of experience in the food/beverage industry. She became CEO of Kraft Foods in 2006 and also became its chairman 2007. The as-yet-unnamed global snacks company -- the company Kraft has positioned as offering fast growth opportunities in international markets--will include Oreo, Cadbury, Trident and other brands. The snack company will launch with estimated revenue of $31 billion.

Rosenfeld's accomplishments for Kraft have included building several major businesses, integrating Nabisco, leading Kraft through its spin-off from Altria, and aquiring Cadbury and LU. 

Vernon, 55, joined Kraft in 2009 as president of Kraft Foods North America, after more than 20 years at Johnson & Johnson, where he ran several multi-billion-dollar businesses and helped build brands including Tylenol, Motrin and Pepcid. Kraft credits Vernon with having enabled the North American business, which includes Kraft cheeses, Maxwell House, Oscar Mayer and other mega-brands, to "outperform its peers" in a tough food environment.

The North American grocery business, with revenue of approximately $17 billion, will keep the Kraft Foods name after the split-up, which is expected to happen by late next year. 

The existing, combined company has continued to see strong performance, reporting sales gains and a 22% increase in net income in its latest (Q3) quarter, driven by signficant price increases that offset increased input costs.

Kraft Foods also announced that John T. Cahill, 54, currently an industrial partner of private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings LLC, will become non-executive chairman of the North American grocery company. Initially, he will serve as executive chairman, reflecting "the tremendous effort required to launch and transition to a public company," Kraft stated.

Cahill will join Kraft Foods in January to begin worl on the separation of the company. The company's management structure will continue as is until the split occurs.