Big Food’s leadership transformation overview
- Big Food leadership changes reflect deeper structural industry transformation
- Boards increasingly favour reinvention, digital expertise and portfolio management
- Traditional growth drivers face mounting challenges from evolving consumers
- CEOs now expected to deliver change beyond operational excellence
- C-suites are becoming leaner, broader and more transformation-focused
The food and beverage industry is undergoing one of its most significant leadership transitions in decades.
In the past 18 months alone, we’ve seen:
- Henrique Braun replace James Quincey as CEO of The Coca-Cola Company CEO
- Steve Cahillane replace Carlos Abrams-Rivera as CEO of The Kraft Heinz Company
- Philipp Navratil replace Laurent Freixe as CEO of Nestlé
- Hein Schumacher replace Peter Feld as CEO of Barry Callebaut Group
- Kirk Tanner replace Michele Buck as CEO of The Hershey Company
- Alessandro Nervegna and Lapo Civiletti replace the traditional CEO role at Ferrero Group
- Nobuhiro Torii replace Takeshi Niinami as CEO of Suntori
And the list goes on...
But, while CEO succession is a normal part of corporate life, the scale and nature of recent changes suggest something much bigger beneath the surface.
Change at the top
According to executive search specialist Issy Perez of Boyden, the current wave of CEO and C-suite appointments reflects an industry grappling with fundamental shifts in consumer behaviour, technology, portfolio strategy and growth prospects.
Rather than simply replacing retiring executives, boards are increasingly seeking leaders capable of reshaping companies for a new era.
As Perez notes, “Some of this movement is routine, but the pace is not.”
Roughly 15 of the world’s 50 largest consumer products companies changed CEOs in 2025. The turnover reflects mounting pressure on food and beverage businesses as they contend with volume declines, GLP-1 disruption, private-label competition, tariff uncertainty and portfolio restructuring.
The shift is not only changing who gets appointed, but also where companies look for leadership talent.
A new leadership playbook
For decades, the path to the top of a Big Food company was relatively predictable. Executives typically rose through brand management, operations or commercial leadership roles, building expertise in scale, manufacturing and marketing along the way.
Today, boards are looking for something different.
“Retirements set the timing, but the skills gap is shaping who gets chosen to succeed them,” says Perez.
“The playbook that once rewarded scale, brand-building, and operational discipline is no longer enough. Boards now want leaders who can reshape portfolios, navigate consumer and regulatory uncertainty, and guide organisations through data and technological transformation.”
The appointments themselves reflect these changing priorities. Many of the new CEOs bring stronger experience in digital transformation, international growth, portfolio management and consumer insight than traditional manufacturing-led leadership pathways.
This reflects a growing recognition that many of the industry’s traditional growth engines, including established brands, product line extensions and pricing power, are losing momentum.
With consumer habits rapidly evolving and performance proving harder to find, companies increasingly need leaders capable of reinvention rather than simple operational excellence.
“In an environment marked by flat volumes and heightened scrutiny, steady delivery alone is no longer enough to be seen as a success,” says Perez.
And boards are demanding results faster than ever.
Transformation trumps stability
The market’s expectations of leadership have changed significantly, says Perez, who goes on to explain that “the window for patience is narrowing considerably”.
Food and beverage manufacturers are facing growing pressure from investors to improve performance and unlock value. As a result, boards increasingly expect incoming executives to arrive with a clear turnaround plan.
“Boards are looking for a credible transformation agenda and expect to see progress within the first 18 to 24 months,” Perez says.
Put simply, boards are looking for a different kind of CEO.
And as expectations of the CEO evolve, so do expectations of the wider executive team.
A turning point
Perez believes the current leadership transition will ultimately be seen as a defining moment for the food industry.
“We can already see the shift in the kinds of leaders being appointed.”
That change is being reflected right across the executive suite, with greater value placed on adaptability, commercial agility and change leadership.
Leadership searches are becoming more global and diverse, while companies are increasingly willing to look beyond their own industries for talent.
C-suite structure
As Big Food adapts to a more complex business environment, the structure of leadership teams is evolving too.
Perez points to the emergence of roles such as chief transformation officer (CTO), chief data and AI officer (CDAIO), chief growth officer (CGO), and senior leaders responsible for health, nutrition and sustainability with direct commercial influence.
At the same time, traditional executive positions are expanding well beyond their historical remit.
“The traditional roles evolving fastest are the CFO, now a strategic partner on portfolio and capital allocation, the CMO who needs to be as comfortable with data and commerce as with brand, and the supply chain leader whose role is now tied directly to resilience and cost,” she says.
These changes reflect the growing importance of technology, data analytics and portfolio management in driving future growth.
However, one area where progress remains slow is gender diversity.
The gender gap
The lack of gender diversity at the top of Big Food has become increasingly apparent in recent years.
While industries such as finance, media and technology have made notable progress in appointing women to senior leadership positions, the food and beverage sector continues to lag behind. Female CEOs remain an exception among the world’s largest food manufacturers, raising questions about whether the industry’s leadership transformation extends beyond skills and experience to truly include diversity.
There are, however, signs of progress.
Hershey has emerged as a notable example, making a series of high-profile appointments that broaden both the diversity and external experience of its leadership ranks. In June 2026, the company appointed Heather Hoytink, a former PepsiCo executive, as president of its US business, placing one of the company’s most important divisions under female leadership. And in September, it named Amanda Almond as international president.
Whether these appointments signal the beginning of a wider shift remains to be seen.
The bigger picture
Looking ahead, Perez expects leadership teams to become leaner, more cross-functional and more diverse in their backgrounds.
He also expects executives from outside traditional food and beverage backgrounds to play a bigger role in shaping the industry’s future as technology and health increasingly influence consumer demand.
Most importantly, the CEO role itself is evolving.
“The CEO will be just as much a portfolio architect and change leader as an operator.”
The leadership changes sweeping Big Food are about more than succession planning. They reflect an industry adapting to new consumer demands, technological disruption and intensifying competition.
The result is a leadership model that prioritises transformation over stability.
As Perez says, boards are no longer searching for executives who can simply run food companies. They’re looking for leaders who can redefine them.
