W. Anthony Vernon is a business executive who was the first

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Kraft Foods Kraft Foods Group, Inc. was an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate (company), conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. on October 1, 2012, and was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz on July ...

after it was spun off from the

Mondelēz International Mondelēz International, Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational confectionery, food industry, food, Holding company, holding, drink industry, beverage and snack food company based in Chicago. Mondelez has an annual rev ...

in 2012. Prior to his time at Kraft, he had a 23-year career at

Johnson & Johnson Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is an American multinational pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technologies corporation headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common stock is a c ...

and spent three years with

Ripplewood Holdings Ripplewood is an American private equity firm based in New York City that focuses on leveraged buyouts, venture capital, late stage venture, growth capital, management buyouts, leveraged recapitalizations and other illiquid investments. Ripplewo ...

. When he took on this position his salary increased to $1m per annum. Vernon’s overall compensation was $9.19 million for 2013.

Education

Vernon holds 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 ...

from

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a Private college, private liberal arts college and Music school, conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second colle ...

in history and a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

from the

Kellogg Graduate School of Management The Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management (branded as Northwestern Kellogg) is the graduate business school of Northwestern University, a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. History Early history (1908–1950 ...

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Career

During his 23-year career at Johnson & Johnson, Vernon ran independent business units and led consumer brands such as

Tylenol Tylenol may refer to: * Paracetamol (acetaminophen), a medication used to treat pain and fever * Tylenol (brand), an American brand of drugs containing paracetamol * Chicago Tylenol murders The Chicago Tylenol murders were a series of poisoning d ...

Motrin Ibuprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) that is used to relieve pain, fever, and inflammation. This includes painful menstrual periods, migraines, and rheumatoid arthritis. It can be taken orally (by mouth) or intravenously ...

Pepcid AC Famotidine, sold under the brand name Pepcid among others, is a histamine H2 receptor antagonist medication that decreases stomach acid production. It is used to treat peptic ulcer disease, gastroesophageal reflux disease, and Zollinger–Ell ...

, Imodium and

Splenda Splenda is a global brand of sugar substitutes and reduced-calorie food products. While the company is known for its original formulation containing sucralose, it also manufactures items using natural sweeteners such as stevia, monk fruit and ...

. He then served as healthcare industry partner of Ripplewood Holdings for three years before joining Kraft in 2009. In June 2009, Kraft Foods Inc. announced that Vernon would become President of Kraft Foods North America that August, replacing Rick Searer. In December 2011, when the company announced that it would reorganize in 2012, Vernon was announced as the CEO of the grocery business that became the current incarnation of Kraft. After

spun off Kraft on October 1, 2012, Vernon became CEO. At the time of the split, Kraft Foods (which included brands such as

Oscar Mayer Oscar Mayer is an American meat and cold cut producer known for its hot dogs, bologna sausage, bologna, bacon, ham, and Lunchables products. The company is a subsidiary of the Kraft Heinz, Kraft Heinz Company and based in Chicago, Chicago, Illin ...

Planters Planters Nut & Chocolate Company is an American snack food company now owned by Hormel Foods. Planters is best known for its processed nuts and for the Mr. Peanut icon that symbolizes them. Mr. Peanut was created by grade schooler Antonio Gent ...

Velveeta Velveeta is a brand name for a processed cheese similar to American cheese. It was invented in 1918 by Emil Frey (1867–1951) of the Monroe Cheese Company in Monroe, New York. In 1923, The Velveeta Cheese Company was incorporated as a separat ...

Kool-Aid Kool-Aid is an American brand of flavored drink mix owned by Kraft Heinz based in Chicago, Illinois. The powder form was created by Edwin Perkins in 1927 based upon a liquid concentrate named Fruit Smack. History Kool-Aid was invented by E ...

Miracle Whip Miracle Whip is a condiment manufactured by Kraft Heinz and sold throughout the United States and Canada. It is also sold by Mondelēz International (formerly also Kraft Foods) as "Miracel Whip" throughout Germany. It was developed as a less expe ...

Capri Sun Capri-Sun ( , ) is a brand of juice concentrate–based drinks manufactured by the German company Wild and regional licensees. Rudolf Wild invented the drink in 1969 and introduced it in West Germany as Capri-Sonne (a name retired in favo ...

, A1,

Cool Whip Cool Whip is an American brand of whipped topping manufactured by Kraft Heinz. It is used in North America as a topping for desserts, and in some no-bake pie recipes as a convenience food or ingredient that does not require physical whipping ...

and

Jell-O Jell-O (stylized in all caps) is an American brand offering a variety of powdered gelatin dessert (fruit-flavored gels/jellies), pudding, and no-bake cream pie mixes. The original gelatin dessert ( genericized as jello) is the signature of ...

) was the fourth-largest food and beverage company in North America, trailing

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 ...

, Nestle and

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...

. His salary jumped by 49% during his first year as CEO to $6.83 million. On December 18, 2014, the company announced that Vernon intended to retire as CEO effective from December 28, and that the company planned to replace him with Chairman John Cahill.

Personal data

Vernon is married with three adult sons.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vernon, Tony Living people American chief executives of food industry companies Kellogg School of Management alumni Lawrence University alumni Year of birth missing (living people)