Kraft Foods North America, Northfield, Ill., on Sept. 28 realigned its management structure in an effort to streamline decisionmaking at the growing food giant. The move, which includes the development of a 12-person Management Committee chaired by Kraft President-CEO Betsy Holden and the shifting of responsibilities among top business managers, is an effort to prepare for the impending acquisition of Nabisco Holdings, which will create a $34.9 billion food behemoth. To manage that size, Kraft is continuing in its decadelong mission to reduce the hierarchical structure that often paralyzes large companies from being able to decide and act quickly. Among the changes are the appointment of Irene Rosenfeld, group VP-Kraft Foods and president of Kraft Canada and Operations & Technology, to direct the integration of Kraft and Nabisco; additional responsibility for the beverages and desserts businesses to Ann Fudge's existing oversight of the Maxwell House and Post divisions; and the addition of responsibility for Kraft's operations in Mexico and Puerto Rice to Mary Kay Haben's existing role as president of the Kraft Cheese Division. Those executives named above as well as other division heads will comprise the new Management Committee, which will provide overall direction on the management of Kraft. Following the completion of Kraft's purchase of Nabisco, the "appropriate'' executives from the Nabisco team will joint the committee, according to a company statement.

Copyright September 2000, Crain Communications Inc.