NEW YORK (AP) - Oreo cookie maker Mondelez is thinking about replacing longtime CEO Irene Rosenfeld, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
The report says Mondelez’s board has discussed possible replacements for Rosenfeld, who is also chair of the company, and hired a recruiting firm to evaluate replacements.
Mondelez’s best-known products include Chips Ahoy cookies, Cadbury chocolates and Trident gum. Like some of its competitors, Mondelez has slashed costs and worked to transform its business as customers’ appetite for packaged foods faded and competition from smaller companies that sell foods that seem more wholesome. Revenue for Mondelez has fallen for three years in a row, including drops of 13 percent in 2015 and in 2016.
The company has also faced pressure from activist investors like Bill Ackman and Nelson Peltz. In December the company tried to buy chocolate maker Hershey for $22 billion, but Hershey rejected that offer and the companies weren’t able to agree on a deal.
Rosenfeld has been the company’s CEO since 2006 and became chair in 2007. The company was split off from Kraft Foods in 2012.
Mondelez did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company’s stock closed at $44.18 on Friday, and it is essentially flat this year.
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