Irene Rosenfeld
Encyclopedia
Irene Blecker Rosenfeld is an American
businesswoman
, who is the current CEO and Chairwoman of Kraft Foods
.
to parents Seymour and Joan Blecker, a Jewish couple. Her father’s parents were Romania
n Jews
, her mother’s grandparents were German
Jews
. She later attended W.T. Clarke High School in Westbury, NY. She holds a Ph.D. in Marketing
and Statistics
, a Master of Science in Business, and a B.A. degree in Psychology from Cornell University
.
advertising agency
in New York
and she later joined General Foods
in consumer research.
In 2004, Rosenfeld was appointed Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of Frito-Lay
, a division of PepsiCo
, where she focused on promoting healthy products.
Rosenfeld was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Kraft Foods in June 2006. She joined General foods which later became a part of Kraft foods. Among her many accomplishments at Kraft foods, she led the restructuring and turnaround of key business in the US, Canada and Moscow. She is active in a number of industry and community organisations, including the Economic Club of Chicago. She was appointed to the additional post of Chairwoman in March 2007, following Altria Group's spin-off of Kraft.
In 2008 she was placed sixth on The Wall Street Journal
's "50 Women to Watch" list. Forbes rated Rosenfeld 2nd on the top 10 Most Powerful Women in 2010 and 10th in 2011.
In 2010, Rosenfeld earned total compensation of $19.288 million, placing her 48th on the Forbes Executive Pay.
Rosenfeld is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Cornell University
Board of Trustees.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
businesswoman
Businessperson
A businessperson is someone involved in a particular undertaking of activities for the purpose of generating revenue from a combination of human, financial, or physical capital. An entrepreneur is an example of a business person...
, who is the current CEO and Chairwoman of Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods
Kraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
.
Early life and education
Rosenfeld was born in Westbury, New YorkWestbury, New York
Westbury incorporated in 1932 as a village in Nassau County, New York in the United States. The population was 15,146 at the 2010 census.The Village of Westbury is in the Town of North Hempstead....
to parents Seymour and Joan Blecker, a Jewish couple. Her father’s parents were Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, her mother’s grandparents were German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
. She later attended W.T. Clarke High School in Westbury, NY. She holds a Ph.D. in Marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
and Statistics
Statistics
Statistics is the study of the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of data. It deals with all aspects of this, including the planning of data collection in terms of the design of surveys and experiments....
, a Master of Science in Business, and a B.A. degree in Psychology from Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
.
Career
Rosenfeld has been involved in the food and beverage industry for about 30 years. Her first job was at Dancer Fitzgerald SampleDancer Fitzgerald Sample
Dancer Fitzgerald Sample was a top tier Madison Avenue advertising agency during the 20th century originally founded in Chicago in 1923. It was acquired and merged into the Saatchi & Saatchi network in the 1980s.-History:...
advertising agency
Advertising agency
An advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and she later joined General Foods
General Foods
General Foods Corporation was a company whose direct predecessor was established in the USA by Charles William Post as the Postum Cereal Company in 1895. The name General Foods was adopted in 1929, after several corporate acquisitions...
in consumer research.
In 2004, Rosenfeld was appointed Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of Frito-Lay
Frito-Lay
Frito-Lay North America is the division of PepsiCo that manufactures, markets and sells corn chips, potato chips and other snack foods. The primary snack food brands produced under the Frito-Lay name include Fritos corn chips, Cheetos cheese-flavored snacks, Doritos and Tostitos tortilla chips,...
, a division of PepsiCo
PepsiCo
PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...
, where she focused on promoting healthy products.
Rosenfeld was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Kraft Foods in June 2006. She joined General foods which later became a part of Kraft foods. Among her many accomplishments at Kraft foods, she led the restructuring and turnaround of key business in the US, Canada and Moscow. She is active in a number of industry and community organisations, including the Economic Club of Chicago. She was appointed to the additional post of Chairwoman in March 2007, following Altria Group's spin-off of Kraft.
In 2008 she was placed sixth on The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
's "50 Women to Watch" list. Forbes rated Rosenfeld 2nd on the top 10 Most Powerful Women in 2010 and 10th in 2011.
In 2010, Rosenfeld earned total compensation of $19.288 million, placing her 48th on the Forbes Executive Pay.
Rosenfeld is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
Board of Trustees.
External links
- Biography at Kraft FoodsKraft FoodsKraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
- Profile at ForbesForbesForbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
- Profile at BusinessweekBusinessWeekBloomberg Businessweek, commonly and formerly known as BusinessWeek, is a weekly business magazine published by Bloomberg L.P. It is currently headquartered in New York City.- History :...