• by Steve McClellan , February 1, 2012

Veteran marketer and agency executive Mark Stewart, currently vice president global media at Kraft Foods, will leave the company as part of its ongoing restructuring. Stewart has been in that role at the packaged-goods giant for three years.

Last year, Kraft unveiled plans to split into two separate companies by the end of 2012 and earlier this month, it said it would pare 1,600 jobs from its payroll as a result of that restructuring. The two new companies will be an international snack foods business, where brands like Cadbury will be parked, and a North American grocery concern, which will market foods, such the Macaroni & Cheese line of products.

On January 17, when it announced the coming layoffs, Kraft said it would be realigning its U.S. sales operation, consolidating U.S. management and streamlining corporate and business unit organizations. And more job cuts could come.

The company noted at the time the 1,600 layoffs did not include manufacturing facilities. “With the impending separation into two independent companies, Kraft is continuing its review of manufacturing facilities to consider what's best for both new companies.”

Kraft issued a statement Wednesday confirming that one of the “difficult decisions” it made was “significantly restructuring our corporate media services group. Mark Stewart, our vice president of global media services, and others will be leaving the company.”  

Kraft added that Stewart "successfully managed strategic media assets for our brands, taking us to the next level, and increased Kraft's footprint in the digital world.”

No details for the revamped media services group have been announced.

Prior to joining Kraft, Stewart served in several capacities at Omnicom’s OMD. He joined the agency in 2005 as managing director of the East Coast region. Later, he shifted to global account director on the Visa business. He departed in August 2008.

Before joining OMD, Stewart was chief strategy officer at Interpublic’s Universal McCann and prior to that, he was executive vice president and chief strategy officer at sister agency McCann-Erickson. Earlier, he was founding partner of Media First International and also spent 12 years at WPP’s JWT, starting in Australia.