Gary Rodkin is the past CEO and President of ConAgra Foods, one of the largest

food processing Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing takes many forms, from grinding grain into raw flour, home cooking, and complex industrial methods used in the mak ...

companies in North America. Rodkin was formerly the CEO and president of the North America division of

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

from 1995 to 2005, and still is a special consultant through his exit agreement with the company. On August 12, 2014, Rodkin announced that he would be retiring as CEO in 2015.

Education

Rodkin has a

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

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

from

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

and an M.B.A. from the

Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

Career

Early in his career, Rodkin worked at General Mills, Inc., in a variety of

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

and general management roles, taking a key role in many of the successes of the firm’s leading brands, such as

Betty Crocker Betty Crocker is a brand and fictional character used in advertising campaigns for food and recipes. The character was created by the Washburn-Crosby Company in 1921 to give a personalized response to consumer product questions. In 1954, Gener ...

and Cheerios. In 1995, Rodkin joined Tropicana Products, Inc. and became chief executive in August 1998. From 2003 to 2005, Rodkin was Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo Beverages and Foods North America. He was also CEO and President at various times for: Pepsi-Cola North America, Pepsico, Inc. and PepsiCo Beverages and Foods North America. He has been an Independent Director at the United Industries Corporation since 2002, and a Director at

Avon Products Avon Products, Inc. ( ) is an Anglo-American multinational company selling cosmetics, skin care, perfume, and personal care products. It is a multi-level marketing company based in London. In 2020, Avon had annual sales of $9.1 billion worldwid ...

between 2007 and 2016. While CEO of ConAgra Foods in 2009, Gary M. Rodkin earned a total compensation of $5,858,677, which included a base salary of $1,019,231, a cash bonus of $1,100,000, stocks granted of $2,126,000, options granted of $1,425,850, and other compensation totaling $187,596. After leaving ConAgra Foods, in July 2015 he took on the role of Independent Director for the

Simon Property Group Simon Property Group, Inc. is an American real estate investment trust that invests in shopping malls, outlet centers, and community/lifestyle centers. It is the largest owner of shopping malls in the United States and is headquartered in Indian ...

Charitable endeavors

Rodkin is the chairman of Boys Town, the Prosper Omaha economic development campaign established by the Omaha Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of the Father Flanagan’s Boys’ Home

Board of Trustees A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

. He has also been Chairman of the

Grocery Manufacturers Association The Consumer Brands Association (CBA), formerly the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), is a United States-wide trade association for manufacturers of consumer packaged goods (CPG). The CBA represents companies that manufacture food, beve ...

since 2011. Gary and Barbara Rodkin donated $15 million dollars to Rutgers University in 2018 to build the Gary and Barbara Rodkin Center for Academic Success to support the academic achievements of Rutgers' approximately 700 student-athletes. This facility houses the Men's and Women's soccer teams, as well as the Men's and Women's lacrosse teams. This facility also has a large academic learning center for all student-athletes to use.

Recognition

Rodkin was listed as Number 250 on

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

' Top CEO Compensation for 2011. He received the FMI Albers Award for Business Collaboration in 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodkin, Gary American chief executives of food industry companies Rutgers University alumni Harvard Business School alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people)