Campbell names Mignini COO; creates Accelerator unit

Campbell Soup Co. has announced a strategic reorganization around its core business operations—including its soup, simple meals, and shelf-stable beverages portfolios and its snacks portfolio—under the leadership of Luca Mignini as chief operating officer (COO). Campbell will create a new Accelerator unit to continue to expand in faster-growing spaces and invest in high-growth areas. As part of the reorganization, Campbell Fresh will become part of the Accelerator unit to realize the growth potential of the packaged fresh category.

“This strategic reorganization—focused on our core, the integration of recent acquisitions, the Campbell Fresh turnaround, and long-term growth—provides the right structure for us to optimize the value of our businesses today, while creating future-oriented capabilities,” said Denise Morrison, Campbell’s president and CEO. “It will simplify our operations, improve our execution and enable us to allocate resources with a greater focus on profitable growth.”

Mignini, currently Campbell’s president of Global Biscuits and Snacks, will gain additional responsibilities and has been named COO. In addition to continuing to oversee the Global Biscuits and Snacks portfolio, including Arnott’s, Kelsen, the recently created Campbell Snacks unit (the combined Pepperidge Farm and Snyder’s-Lance brands), and the simple meals and shelf-stable beverages business in Asia Pacific and Australia, Mignini will now also lead the following businesses and functions:

• Campbell’s Meals and Beverages, which includes the company’s important U.S. soup, simple meals, and shelf-stable beverages portfolio, as well as the Plum, Pacific Foods, North America Food Service, Canada, and Latin America businesses
• The company’s U.S. sales organization
• The global product development group within R&D

In addition, Campbell is creating a new unit focused on accelerating innovation, driving long-term growth, and developing new business models that will shape the future of food. The Accelerator will consist of the Campbell Fresh business, the company’s existing Digital and e-Commerce unit, and a network of cross-functional teams that can be rapidly deployed against key growth priorities. It will include important capabilities and functions spanning strategy, innovation, consumer experience, and new distribution models.

The company has initiated an external search for a chief acceleration officer to lead the new unit and to fast-track transformation and future growth opportunities. The Accelerator unit will include:

• Consumer Experience: responsible for identifying the foresights, insights, culinary, and consumer trends across Campbell categories that will drive future growth and deliver modern marketing capabilities and services.
• Long-term Innovation: responsible for filling the innovation funnel by creating new categories, product platforms, and business models. This group will also include Campbell’s Science and Technology organization.
• Small Brand and Start-Up Incubation: responsible for leading the creation, incubation, and development of small brands and start-ups, as well as the identification and cultivation of external partnerships.