Kraft Heinz Appoints Former Pepsi Exec as North America CMO

 Kraft Heinz has hired former PepsiCo marketer Todd Kaplan as its chief marketing officer for North America, effective August 5th.

Kaplan will oversee marketing for the $22 billion packaged foods portfolio — which includes Heinz, Kraft Mac & Cheese, Oscar Mayer, Velveeta, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Jell-O, Lunchables, and Ore-Ida.

Kaplan left PepsiCo last month after 17 years at the food and beverage giant.

“I look forward to leading the team to unleash the potential of these incredible brands through elevated creativity, a deeper connection to culture, and best in class marketing, media, and digital capabilities that can fuel the company’s next wave of growth,” Kaplan wrote in a LinkedIn post yesterday.

He also shared in the post, "I’m energized by the opportunity to shape and redefine the future of food through my oversight of Kraft Heinz’s innovative joint ventures with NotCo and Just Spices.

His goal is to “unleash the potential of these incredible brands through elevated creativity, a deeper connection to culture and best-in-class marketing, media and digital capabilities that can fuel the company’s next wave of growth.”

Former CMO Diana Frost was promoted to global chief growth officer in December 2023.