General Mills has announced that its chief financial officer, Don Mulligan, will retire next year, to be replaced by Kofi Bruce.
Mulligan will transition to an advisory capacity from February 2020, and will retire effective 1 June 2020. Bruce, currently General Mills controller, will be promoted to vice president, financial operations, from September 2019, and will become CFO on 1 February 2020.
Kofi Bruce
Bruce joined General Mills in 2009 following ten years of experience in various finance leadership roles at Ford Motor Company and Ecolab.
During his tenure at General Mills, he has served as treasurer; vice president, finance for the US yogurt operating unit; vice president, finance for the convenience stores and foodservice segment and global revenue development; and his most recent role as controller.
General Mills said his leadership “has helped to deliver significant profit improvement through operating cost savings, lower financing costs and dramatic increases in the convenience stores and foodservice segment’s profitability”.
Mulligan has held the CFO role since 2007, with overall company responsibility for worldwide finance, mergers and acquisitions, strategy, investor relations, external reporting, internal audit, tax and treasury.
“Don has been an incredible asset to General Mills for more than 20 years. During his tenure as CFO, General Mills generated a 185% increase in value to our shareholders,” said CEO Jeff Harmening.
“Don was instrumental in this performance by helping craft plans that balanced long-term growth and profitability and initiatives that actively transformed our portfolio to be more global and more growth-facing.
“He’s developed and mentored critical finance and cross-functional talent to ensure the organisation is best in class, and his dedication to employees and shareholders alike has helped mould General Mills into the global company it is today.”
In June, General Mills announced it recorded a 7.2% increase in year-on-year net sales for its 2019 fiscal year to $16.87 billion. The owner Yoplait, Cheerios and Old El Paso saw its operating profit rise 4% to $2.52 billion.
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