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Dive Brief:
- The Campbell’s Company said Mick Beekhuizen will succeed Mark Clouse as president and CEO on Feb. 1, 2025.
- Beekhuizen will become the 15th CEO in the company’s 155-year history. He joined Campbell’s in September 2019 as CFO and since 2022 has served as president of the company’s $5.3 billion meals and beverages division.
- Clouse is resigning to join the NFL’s Washington Commanders as the team’s president.
Dive Insight:
The surprise change in leadership will see Clouse hand over the CEO role to an experienced CPG executive in Beekhuizen who is no stranger to Campbell’s, its strategy or the packaged food space.
Since 2022, Beekhuizen has led its meal and beverage division, which commands more than half of the company’s annual net sales through brands including Prego, Pacific, Swanson, V8 and its namesake soup.
The former Chobani executive also recently oversaw the integration of the company’s $2.7 billion purchase of Rao’s sauces maker Sovos Brands. The fast-growing Rao’s sauce is a key part of the New Jersey company’s efforts to accelerate growth and increase its exposure to premium products.
Keith McLoughlin, Campbell’s chairman, said the company has “had a strong CEO succession process in place for the last several years” and possessed a “deep bench of talented executives.”
“Mick is a superb leader with a track record of success,” McLoughlin said in a statement. “The Board is confident that he has all the requisite skills and capabilities to continue to drive the strategy that has delivered consistently strong results and created value for shareholders.”
Beekhuizen will take the helm as food and beverage companies across the industry grapple with a cash-strapped consumer cutting back on spending due to inflation.
Campbell’s on Tuesday posted $2.8 billion in net sales during its first quarter, an increase of 10% from a year earlier due largely to the Sovos purchase.
Organic net sales slipped 1% with flat volume and mix as Clouse said in a separate statement that the company navigated a “dynamic consumer environment and uneven pace of category recovery.”
In a note to investors, TD Cowen analyst Robert Moskow called Beekhuizen “a good pick” and that “Clouse leaves the business on strong footing.” Clouse, he said, was successful in transforming Campbell’s “struggling business and rebuilding its foundation” and bringing a “charismatic leadership style” needed to rebuild confidence.
Still, he said while Beekhuizen “is well qualified to take the helm” he will face a different set of challenges than his predecessor. These include uncertainties regarding President Trump’s Make America Healthy Again initiative, consumer sensitivity to inflation and rapid changes in consumer preferences.
“Running the business operations of a [Washington] football team with an 8-5 record sounds like an easier task,” Moskow said, referencing the Commanders’ current record this season.
Clouse, who has served as president and CEO since January 2019, will take on what he called “a once-in-a-lifetime position” with the Commanders that combines his love of business and sports.
During his tenure, Clouse reshaped Campbell’s portfolio to focus on category-leading brands, improved the growth outlook for its iconic soup business and orchestrated the Sovos acquisition.
Clouse also was instrumental in recently changing the company’s name from Campbell Soup to one that better reflected its portfolio of chips, sauces, cookies and beverages.
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