MINNEAPOLIS _ General Mills said Wednesday its president and chief operating officer, Jeffrey L. Harmening, will become chief executive on June 1.
He succeeds Ken Powell, who has been CEO and chairman since 2007. Powell will remain chairman until his retirement, likely next year.
Harmening, 50, has been with the food maker for 23 years and was widely seen as Powell's successor when he was named president last July. The company, headquartered in suburban Minneapolis, also announced Harmening's election to its board of directors.
"The board unanimously cast its vote for Jeff as the best candidate to lead this venerable 150-year-old company," R. Kerry Clark, the independent lead director of the General Mills Board, said in a statement. "Jeff knows how to build talented teams and has extensive experience both in the U.S. and globally. He is not afraid to challenge the status quo and he is a tenacious and resilient leader."
General Mills is facing challenges from many sides as sales have dropped the last seven quarters. The cereal and snack maker has managed to maintain profits, but primarily through cost cutting, a tactic that can only succeed for so long.
The company will report its fiscal 2017 fourth-quarter and year-end earnings results in June. Investors are wary that General Mills will hit an aggressive target for adjusted operating profit margin around 18 percent. The company adjusted its full-year sales forecast in February but maintained its margin target.
Harmening has held a variety of positions at General Mills. He led the company's U.S. retail business and was chief executive of Cereal Partners Worldwide, a joint venture of General Mills and Switzerland-based Nestle. Harmening has also been president of General Mills' cereal operating unit and held other U.S. marketing roles.
"I am honored to take the helm of General Mills at such an important point in its history," Harmening said in a statement. "Building on the legacy of those that have led this great company before me is an exciting challenge and one I do not take on alone. General Mills' employees are singularly focused on driving growth and returns for the long term, and it will be a privilege to help them reach that goal."
Powell has a full plate already for his retirement. He will continue to serve as deputy chair of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank through 2019 and was recently elected to the University of Minnesota's Board of Regents, a high-profile position that demands 30 to 40 hours per month of volunteer work.
"General Mills has a long tradition of delivering top-tier returns that our shareholders have counted on for generations," Powell said. "We are focused on growth and feel strongly that Jeff is the right leader for the next leg of our journey."
