Kraft Heinz announces three new executives to its North America leadership team

The Kraft Heinz Company announced three seasoned new members of its North America leadership team. New external additions include Helen Davis, SVP and head of North America operations, and Rebecca Dunphey, SVP and president of fresh, beverages and desserts. Simon Laroche, an internal hire, will assume the role of SVP, president of Canada and North America Coffee.

According to the announcement, the new appointments to critical leadership positions reflect the company’s commitment to driving long-term sustainable growth with best-in-class talent. With extensive functional expertise and a focus on building a culture of ownership and creativity, each leader will bring new capabilities to help steer Kraft Heinz through its ongoing transformation.

“The addition of Helen, Rebecca and Simon to the North America leadership team is a huge step in our growth agenda,” Carlos Abrams-Rivera, North America zone president for Kraft Heinz, said in the announcement. “Each brings world-class talent, and I’m confident this empowered team will help us drive our unique Kraft Heinz culture and create a space to innovate, strengthen our competitive advantages, and unlock our power of one team harnessing greatness.”

Helen Davis joins Kraft Heinz with more than 25 years of experience leading operations and supply chain for major CPG companies across diverse geographies. Most recently, Davis worked as head of supply chain North America Beauty, Wellbeing and Personal Care at Unilever. In her new role as SVP and head of North America operations, Davis will lean on her rich experience of leading complex global companies through challenging supply chain environments and modernizing her teams with new tools and team structures. After also leading several end-to-end functions while at Estée Lauder, Coca-Cola, and Reckitt Benckiser, she is well-positioned to bring an innovative, strategic and collaborative approach to Kraft Heinz.

As the new SVP and president of fresh, beverages and desserts in North America, Rebecca Dunphey joins Kraft Heinz to oversee some of the company’s most iconic brands. Most recently, Dunphey worked at The Clorox Company, where she was group president for its Care & Connection division, leading seven business units. She also served as the executive sponsor of the Clorox Sustainability Program. With more than 20 years of experience, Dunphey also held several international and U.S. business unit leadership roles at Kimberly-Clark and Unilever. In her new role, she will help drive positive share growth by developing evolved brand strategies and through innovation.

Simon Laroche has been with Kraft Heinz for more than four years, most recently in the role of president of Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Japan (ANJ), where he led a team of about 2,500 employees. He’s returning to his home country of Canada, where he’ll be SVP and president of Canada and the North America coffee business. Laroche brings more than 20 years of experience in the food and beverage industry, including nearly 14 years at Labatt Breweries of Canada, where he held several roles, including VP of sales for the Canadian market. Laroche will be based in the Kraft Heinz Toronto office.

Davis, Dunphey and Laroche will all report to Abrams-Rivera. Davis has already assumed her new role; Dunphey starts at Kraft Heinz on Aug. 14 and Laroche will begin his new role on Aug. 21.