Dirk Van de Put
Chair and Chief Executive Officer
2017 – Present
9 years (current)
Key Decisions & Impact
Taking the helm from Irene Rosenfeld, Dirk Van de Put executed a strategic shift toward localized, aggressive brand building. He halted the relentless, painful corporate cost-cutting that had severely constrained revenue growth, instead reinvesting billions into aggressive digital marketing and global brand expansion. Furthermore, he pursued lucrative 'bolt-on' acquisitions (such as Clif Bar and Chipita) to expand into premium baked goods and active nutrition, while divesting the low-growth chewing gum business to strictly focus on chocolate and biscuits. Most recently, he forced through aggressive, price increases to protect corporate profit margins against historic, severe spikes in global cocoa costs.
Legacy
Van de Put's defining legacy is reinvigorating Mondelez's top-line revenue growth after years of deep stagnation. By heavily pivoting away from pure corporate efficiency toward aggressive, localized market share expansion and premiumization, he solidified Mondelez as the most dominant, profitable global snacking leviathan on Earth. His incredible strategic execution perfectly guarantees massive ongoing corporate success.