Kraft Heinz’s Miguel Patricio: Barron’s Top CEOs 2022

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This month marks the seventh anniversary of the merger that created

Kraft Heinz
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The deal, led by Warren Buffett and Brazil’s 3G Capital, was an epic flop for its first four years. Shareholders lost more than 50% as the company focused too much on cost-cutting and too little on product innovation.

Then the board brought in a beer marketer named Miguel Patricio as CEO. The result since then has been a market-beating stock advance.

“Basically, three years ago, our company was on the bottom,” Patricio, 56, told analysts at a recent conference. “But at the same time, when you achieve the bottom is where you see opportunity.”

That opportunity started with collapsing the company’s 75 different business units into one, which reduced infighting and improved communication. Growth investments were focused on a handful of key brands, including Heinz, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Philadelphia, and Lunchables.

The company has expanded its food and beverage brands across income levels with warehouse-club packaging and premium varieties. Nine in-house “kitchens” cook up digital advertising—Velveeta has its own sassy Twitter account. Patricio decided to sell the company’s bulk cheese and Planter’s nuts businesses, which reduced exposure to private-label competition and raised cash.

Leverage is down. Bond ratings are up. That could set the table for acquisitions, but Patricio says deal making is no replacement for organic growth.

Write to Jack Hough at [email protected]