She is the one heading Kraft and is currently doing a great job where she started to make a major move in 2007. That is to restructure Kraft.
Kraft is in the final stages of a master plan that calls for the closing 36 plants and cutting 19,000 jobs to save $1.3 billion in annual costs. She has also jettisoned some of the brands which have lower margins. Even though they might still be profitable, she is taking the radical approach in order to maintain her hedgehog concept, which is to throw all the savings into key brands and supporting them with all she got. In addition to that, she has cut off 50% of her suppliers and focussed on getting supplies from the remaining 50% suppliers.
Right now, she has gotten her foundation strong and standing on a pedestal that enables her to have a clear view of the bright future ahead. But one obstacle remains, that is the acquisition of Cadbury.
The recent hoo-hah of the attempt to acquire Cadbury with 16.4 billion is top on the news right now. Cadbury's shareholders believe that they should at least wait for an offer as high as 20 billion before they start to contemplate.
One important point to note is that if Irene gets too obsessed with the bid for Cadbury, and satisfying their requirements of such a high bid, she could waste all her effort that she made for the past few years to bring Kraft back on track. It could have many unforseen ramifications if this last move is not dealt with carefully.
Every single precise details on this deal is the determinating factor.
But if Cadbury is successfully acquired, Kraft can further expand its market shares by a mile in Asia, which contains some of the richest consumers in the world. I am pretty sure the consumption of chocolates is going to rise tremendously in the near future, particularly in countries like India and China. With these two super-powerhouse supporting the demand for chocolates, Kraft will definitely be one of the top brands ever in history.
Photo credits -planetwoot, -coloroot
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