Tony Vernon

W. Anthony Vernon is a business executive who was the first chief executive officer of Kraft Foods after it was spun off from the Mondelēz International in 2012. Prior to his time at Kraft, he had a 23-year career at Johnson & Johnson and spent three years with Ripplewood Holdings. When he took on this position his salary increased to $1m per annum. Vernon’s overall compensation was $9.19 million for 2013.[1]

This article is about the business executive. For psychology professor, see Philip A. Vernon.

Education

Vernon holds a bachelor's degree from Lawrence University in history and a Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.[2]

Career

During his 23-year career at Johnson & Johnson, Vernon ran independent business units and led consumer brands such as Tylenol, Motrin, Pepcid AC, Imodium and Splenda.[2] He then served as healthcare industry partner of Ripplewood Holdings for three years before joining Kraft in 2009.[2] In June 2009, Kraft Foods Inc. announced that Vernon would become President of Kraft Foods North America that August, replacing Rick Searer.[2] In December 2011, when the company announced that it would reorganize in 2012, Vernon was announced as the CEO of the grocery business that became the current incarnation of Kraft.[3] After Mondelēz International spun off Kraft on October 1, 2012, Vernon became CEO.[4] At the time of the split, Kraft Foods (which included brands such as Oscar Mayer, Planters, Velveeta, Kool-Aid, Miracle Whip, Capri Sun, A1, Cool Whip and Jell-O) was the fourth-largest food and beverage company in North America, trailing PepsiCo, Nestle and Coca-Cola.[4] His salary jumped by 49% during his first year as CEO to $6.83 million.[5] On December 18, 2014, the company announced that Vernon intended to retire as CEO effective from December 28, and that the company planned to replace him with Chairman John Cahill.[6][7]

Personal data

Vernon is married with three adult sons.

Notes
  1. Wohl, Jessica (14 March 2014). "Kraft CEO pulls in more than $9 million in pay in 2013". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  2. "Kraft Foods Names Tony Vernon President, Kraft Foods North". Bloomberg News. 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  3. York, Emily Bryson (2011-12-05). "Kraft chooses leaders for separate companies". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  4. Schultz, E. J. (2012-09-07). "Kraft's New Grocery Company Plans Marketing Boost in Search of 'Renaissance': CEO Tony Vernon Outlines Plans in Advance of Oct. 1 Split". Advertising Age. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  5. York, Emily Bryson (2013-04-05). "Kraft's Vernon sees pay rise 49% as CEO". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2014-12-26.
  6. Gasparro, Annie and Joann S. Lublin (2014-12-18). "Kraft Foods Announces CEO Change: Chairman Cahill Set to Replace Vernon, Spur Changes at Food Company". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2014-12-19.
  7. "W Vernon: Profile". Forbes. Archived from the original on February 12, 2013. Retrieved 2015-01-05.
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