W. Anthony Vernon is a business executive who was the first

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

Kraft Foods The second incarnation of Kraft Foods is an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz in 2015. A merger with Heinz, arra ...

after it was spun off from the

Mondelēz International Mondelez International, Inc. ( ), often styled Mondelēz, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational confectionery, food industry, food, holding and drink industry, beverage and snack food company based in Chicago. Mondelez has an ...

in 2012. Prior to his time at Kraft, he had a 23-year career at

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational corporation founded in 1886 that develops medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and consumer packaged goods. Its common stock is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the company i ...

and spent three years with

Ripplewood Holdings Ripplewood is an American private equity firm based in New York City that focuses on leveraged buyouts, late stage venture, growth capital, management buyouts, leveraged recapitalizations and other illiquid investments. Ripplewood was founded ...

. When he took on this position his salary increased to $1m per annum. Vernon’s overall compensation was $9.19 million for 2013.

Education

Vernon holds a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second college in the U.S. to be founded as a coeducation ...

in history and a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

from the

Kellogg Graduate School of Management The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University (also known as Kellogg) is the business school of Northwestern University, a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1908, Kellogg is one of the oldest and most p ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Career

During his 23-year career at Johnson & Johnson, Vernon ran independent business units and led consumer brands such as

Tylenol Tylenol may refer to: * Paracetamol (acetaminophen), a medication used to treat pain and fever * Tylenol (brand) Tylenol () is a brand of medication, advertised for reducing pain, reducing fever, and relieving the symptoms of allergies, cold, ...

Motrin Ibuprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that is used for treating pain, fever, and inflammation. This includes painful menstrual periods, migraines, and rheumatoid arthritis. It may also be used to close a patent ductus arte ...

, Pepcid AC,

Imodium Loperamide, sold under the brand name Imodium, among others,Drugs.co Page accessed September 4, 2015 is a medication used to decrease the frequency of diarrhea. It is often used for this purpose in inflammatory bowel disease and short bowel synd ...

and

Splenda Splenda is a global brand of sugar substitutes and reduced-calorie food products. While the company is known for its original formulation containing sucralose, it also manufactures items using natural sweeteners such as stevia, monk fruit and ...

. He then served as healthcare industry partner of Ripplewood Holdings for three years before joining Kraft in 2009. In June 2009, Kraft Foods Inc. announced that Vernon would become President of Kraft Foods North America that August, replacing Rick Searer. In December 2011, when the company announced that it would reorganize in 2012, Vernon was announced as the CEO of the grocery business that became the current incarnation of Kraft. After

spun off Kraft on October 1, 2012, Vernon became CEO. At the time of the split, Kraft Foods (which included brands such as

Oscar Mayer Oscar Mayer is an American meat and cold cut producer known for its hot dogs, bologna, bacon, ham, and Lunchables products. The company is a subsidiary of the Kraft Heinz Company and based in Chicago, Illinois. History Early years German immigr ...

Planters Planters Nut & Chocolate Company is an American snack food company now owned by Hormel Foods. Planters is best known for its processed nuts and for the Mr. Peanut icon that symbolizes them. Mr. Peanut was created by grade schooler Antonio Gentil ...

Velveeta Velveeta is a brand name for a processed cheese product similar to American cheese. It was invented in 1918 by Emil Frey of the "Monroe Cheese Company" in Monroe, New York. In 1923, "The Velveeta Cheese Company" was incorporated as a separate ...

Kool-Aid Kool-Aid is an American brand of flavored drink mix owned by Kraft Heinz based in Chicago, Illinois. The powder form was created by Edwin Perkins in 1927 based upon a liquid concentrate called Fruit Smack. History Kool-Aid was invented by E ...

Miracle Whip Miracle Whip is a sauce condiment manufactured by Kraft Heinz and sold throughout the United States and Canada. It is also sold by Mondelēz International (formerly also Kraft Foods) as "Miracel Whip" throughout Germany. It was developed as a less ...

Capri Sun Capri Sun (, , stylized as CAPRISUN in the United States and Capri-Sun internationally) is a German brand of juice concentrate drinks owned by Capri Sun Group Holding in Germany, which is a privately held company of Hans-Peter Wild. It was in ...

, A1,

Cool Whip Cool Whip is an American brand of imitation whipped cream, referred to as a ''whipped topping'' by its manufacturer, Kraft Heinz. It is used in North America as a topping for desserts, and in some no-bake pie recipes as a convenience food or ingr ...

and

Jell-O Jell-O is an American brand offering a variety of powdered gelatin dessert (fruit-flavored gels/jellies), pudding, and no-bake cream pie mixes. The original gelatin dessert (genericized as jello) is the signature of the brand. "Jell-O" is a reg ...

) was the fourth-largest food and beverage company in North America, trailing

PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...

, Nestle and

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta ...

. His salary jumped by 49% during his first year as CEO to $6.83 million. On December 18, 2014, the company announced that Vernon intended to retire as CEO effective from December 28, and that the company planned to replace him with Chairman John Cahill.

Personal data

Vernon is married with three adult sons.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vernon, Tony Living people American chief executives of food industry companies Kellogg School of Management alumni Lawrence University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)