Here's the letter from Glen Walter
Dear NA Colleagues,
As you saw from this morning’s global communication from Dirk, we are embarking on an exciting new chapter across MDLZ. I’d like to take a moment to share a bit more about what this means for us here in North America.
I’m pleased to share that I will continue to be the NA Region President, with direct accountability for the leadership of the U.S. Business Unit (“BU”) and oversight over the Canadian BU. I have great confidence in the potential for growth across the U.S. and Canada, and believe in the power of “local-first.”
U.S. and Canada as Business Units
Business Units - Our Center of Gravity Moving ForwardAs Dirk shared, we’ll establish 13 Business Units across our global organization. Here in North America, the U.S and Canada will represent two of the 13 BUs.
Each of these Business Units will be the center of gravity in our business moving forward. They will be accountable for winning in their local markets with their consumers, and will manage their local P&Ls with ownership of brand building and innovation agendas.
With the creation of two BUs in our region, we will be able to provide the appropriate level of focus and resourcing to drive both our U.S. and Canada businesses--- with the right capabilities and investments to support our strategic ambitions. Specifically:
Building upon on our strengths in areas of the business that are working well
Addressing areas that are not yet working or in need of improvement
Ensuring clear focus, ownership and accountability
Our Path Forward
Bringing this new chapter to life in our organization and delivering on this ambitious growth agenda will require a few significant shifts, both in mindset and in our structure.
As we stand up our U.S. and Canadian Business Units, we are putting in place dedicated leadership teams in each market who will be empowered and accountable for driving our strategy locally, effective January 1, 2019.
US BU Leadership Team
Canadian BU Leadership Team
Today, I’m pleased to share the leadership appointments for the U.S. BU. Please click here for the organizational announcement. My overall leadership team will be comprised of leaders and functions which have primary responsibility and accountability for the U.S. business and, in a few instances both the U.S. business and additional oversight responsibilities for Canada.
US BU Leadership Team as of January 1, 2019
Canada is a strategic market, for both North America and MDLZ globally. As we establish our new Canada BU, we will be appointing a President to lead this important business. We are currently in the process of finalizing that selection, and we will share more details once we have confirmed the appointment. Once that is complete, we’ll be working through confirming the team which will drive our Canadian business moving forward. As shown above, the Canada BU will have full E2E leadership and structure to support our Canadian growth ambition.
Key Milestones
I encourage everyone to take the time to read today’s announcements and make time to connect with your teams and local leaders. Following today’s communications, between now and our January 1 go-live, the key milestone dates are as follows:
November 1: Organizational Announcements for U.S. LT+1 and Canada LT
By November 15: Organizational Announcements for Remainder of U.S. & Canada BU Roles
November 15 through End of Year: Planning & Ways of Working for Go-Live
January 1, 2019: GO-LIVE of U.S. & CANADA BUs
Today’s announcements represent an important step as we focus on putting the right organization in place to deliver on our strategy and growth ambition. While I know it may seem unsettling to not have clarity on the full organization and teams today, you’ve got my commitment that we’re working diligently to provide you with further details and ensure we do what’s right to set our U.S. and Canadian businesses up for success.
As these changes won’t be in effect until January 1, 2019, my ask of you is to continue to focus on delivering Q4 to close out this year strong and set us up to deliver 2019.
I’m looking forward to leading us on this new chapter and to working with all of you to bring “Snacking Made Right” to life across the U.S. and Canada.
For additional detail on other regional and functional organizational announcements made today across MDLZ, please click here.
Best regards,
Glen Walter
EVP & President, NA
Mondelēz International