The Chicago, Illinois-based Kraft Heinz company has appointed several individuals to new positions on its leadership team. Andre Maciel has been appointed as EVP and global CFO, effective March 2.
Maciel will succeed Paulo Basilio, who will step down on March 1 as part of a planned transition and will remain with the company as a strategic advisor through August. Basilio remains a partner at 3G Capital.
Basilio has been with the company since 2013, serving two terms as CFO and in between as the president of the U.S. zone. The company accepted his request to step down from the global CFO role on Jan. 19.
“I have had the tremendous pleasure to work with Paulo since 2019. I look back over these years in amazement on everything that the company has been able to accomplish. Paulo has been a critical part of our success,” said Miguel Patricio, CEO at Kraft Heinz.
“He executed an ambitious acquisitions and divestitures strategy and debt reduction plan. He drove the development of the company’s five-year strategic plan. He oversaw our return to sustained organic net sales and profitability growth and the strengthening of our internal controls. I could go on and on,” he said.
“One of Paulo’s greatest accomplishments was in developing key talent within the finance team, including Andre Maciel, the individual I selected to be his successor. Andre’s combination of business and finance experience makes him a trusted leader. His most recent work on digital transformation sets the foundation for our company’s future. I look forward to his partnership in building on our momentum and continuing our focus on long-term profitable growth,” said Patricio.
Maciel has been with Kraft Heinz since 2013 and has held several leadership roles, including VP of global financial planning and analysis for the H.J. Heinz Co. He was also managing director of continental Europe responsible for the Kraft Heinz business in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland, and his current position of SVP, U.S. CFO and head of digital transformation. Maciel holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Universidade de São Paulo as well as an MBA from INSEAD.
Additionally, Yang Xu currently serves as the global head of treasury and M&A. She will move to SVP, global head of corporate development, joining the executive leadership team reporting directly to Patricio. The move is effective March 2.
Xu has been with Kraft Heinz since 2018 in various finance leadership positions and is based in Amsterdam. Prior to Kraft Heinz, she served as senior director of corporate treasury and risk management USA at the Whirlpool Corporation as well as director of M&A integration, sales and marketing at Whirlpool China.
Xu also worked as an M&A analyst at GE Healthcare, EMEA. Xu holds an MBA in management from HEC Paris and London Business School.
“It has been an honor to serve Kraft Heinz during the last nine years and a privilege to work alongside our leadership team,” said Basilio. “I am proud of the strong finance team we have built and am confident in the leadership and expertise Andre and Yang bring to continue our journey to deliver the next leg of our transformation.”
For more information, visit kraftheinzcompany.com.
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