Kellogg Canada appoints new president

Kellogg-CEO

Kellogg Canada has found its new president, appointing Tony Chow to the role following the retirement of Carol Stewart earlier this year.

Chow, who is also a member of the CPG giant’s North American leadership team, has assumed responsibility of Kellogg’s strategic direction in Canada, as it focuses on growth and building a diversified portfolio within the cereal, snacks and frozen food and veggies categories, according to a press release.

Chow began his career in Canada back in 2003, serving in various customer leadership roles at Kellogg before being promoted to VP of sales in the U.S. in 2010. He returned to Canada in 2012 and was eventually promoted to SVP of marketing and sales in 2017. Most recently, he served as president of the California-based Kashi Company, a cereal and snacks maker acquired by Kellogg in 2000.

For the first quarter of 2019, Kellogg North America reported a net sales decrease of 2% as a result of “unexpected headwinds.” Net sales of cereal were down 5% on “timing of shipments, the transition to new pack sizes in certain brands, and continued category softness,” while frozen foods declined 1.5% after double-digit growth during Q1 last year. Meanwhile, sales were up 3.5% across the organization, thanks to growth in international markets.

The company is more than a year into its new “Deploy for Growth” strategy aimed at reshaping its product portfolio and investing in growing brands. The strategy saw Kellogg do things like bring its MorningStar Farms veggie burgers to Canada in April.

Christine Jakovcic, who previously answered to Stewart, is supporting the company’s marketing efforts in Canada, having been named VP of marketing a little more than a year ago.