Food People: Sara Lee, Kraft, Cadbury

(MoneyWatch)  Sara Lee CFO to Step Down In what the company says is "mutual decision" between himself and CEO Brenda Barnes, Theo de Kool, 56, will step down as Sara Lee's finance chief when the fiscal year ends in June.

De Kool has been with the company since 1990, starting as head of finance for a Dutch subsidiary. He become CFO in 2002.

Analysts have complained about Sara Lee missing its forecasts a few times in recent years, Reuters reports. "More recently," according to the news service, analysts were frustrated because the company suspended stock buybacks, only to reverse itself a day later. [Source: Reuters]


Coke Exec to Head Kraft's Europe Division Michael Clark, who headed Coca-Cola's northern Europe and Nordic division, will take charge of Kraft's European operations from Zurich, reporting to CEO Irene Rosenfeld.

Clarke, 44, worked for Coke for 12 years. Before that, he was a manager for Reebok International. [Source: AP]

New CFO for Cadbury Andrew Bonfield, Bristol-Myer Squibb's finance chief, has taken the same position at confectioner Cadbury.

Before Bristol-Myers, Bonfield worked for BG Group, an energy-exploration company, and as CFO of the former SmithKline Beecham, since merged with Wellcome to become GlaxoSmithKline. [Source: Accountancy Age]