Mondelez International announced that Luca Zaramella, who has served as the company’s chief financial officer since 2018, will assume a new role as chief operating officer effective in February. The company also said it has begun the process of finding a successor to the CFO position Zaramella has held for the past several years.
A company spokesperson described the COO role as a vehicle to strengthen execution across the business and to accelerate how quickly key decisions are taken. The spokesperson added that the organizational change will enable Chief Executive Officer Dirk Van De Put to devote more attention to major strategic initiatives, the company’s long-term growth agenda, and efforts to drive value creation.
Mondelez, the maker of brands such as Oreo and Toblerone, has been confronting volume headwinds recently. The company said it has seen value-conscious consumers pare back purchases of higher-priced chocolates and snacks, while some customers have shifted toward healthier snacking alternatives. These dynamics have contributed to pressure on sales volumes.
Investors and market participants will have a further data point on the company’s performance when Mondelez releases its fourth-quarter results on February 3. The timing of the leadership change and the ongoing CFO search comes as the company prepares to disclose those results.
The move formalizes a separation of responsibilities within Mondelez’s executive team: the newly created COO post is positioned to drive operational execution and faster decision-making, while the CEO will focus more intensively on shaping and pursuing long-term strategic priorities.
Mondelez’s announcement did not provide additional details about the timeline for appointing a new CFO or the internal or external search parameters. The company’s statement focused on the objectives behind the reorganization and on the broader market context affecting demand for its products.
As the company transitions leadership roles, the upcoming fourth-quarter report will be closely watched for indications of how volume pressures and consumer preferences have affected results and how the new operating structure might support future execution.