Kraft Heinz CEO Is Out; Anheuser Busch's Miguel Patricio To Take Over

Struggling food company Kraft Heinz Co KHC confirmed Monday CEO Bernardo Hees will step down and replaced with Miguel Patricio.

What Happened

Hees will remain CEO until the end of June at which point Patricio, a Anheuser Busch Inbev NV BUD veteran, will take over. Patricio's resume includes Global Chief Marketing Officer from 2012 to 2018 at AB InBev. He was tasked with developing and overseeing strategy for global beer brands which represented more than one-third of the company's organic growth and more than 20 percent of total revenue.

Patricio was also AB InBev's President of Asia Pacific from 2008 to 2012 and President of North America from 2006 to 2008.

Why It's Important

Hees' departure from Kraft Heinz comes at a time when the company is struggling to show sales growth. The company also faces some blowback about the business model which was created by its second-largest investor, 3G Capital, CNBC said. Patricio has no affiliation to 3G and he brings "a very different background" within the consumer food segment.

Patricio plans to focus on improving Kraft Heinz's speed, organic growth, brand building and better position the company to be more consumer-focused.

Shares of Kraft Heinz gained more than 1.5 percent following the announcement, trading around $33.50 at time of publication.

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