Kraft Foods announces that chairman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld will keep those roles with Kraft’s international snacks company that will be spun off from its U.S. grocery operations next year.

Kraft Foods’ board of directors has named the chairmen and chief executive officers of its future global snacks and North American grocery companies. The company reports that it expects to complete the spinoff by the end of 2012.

Irene B. Rosenfeld, the current chairman/CEO of Kraft Foods, will become chairman/CEO of the global snacks company, with a reported $31 billion in estimated revenue and a significant presence in numerous fast-growing, international markets.

W. Anthony (Tony) Vernon, the current executive vice president and president of Kraft Foods North America, will become CEO of the $17-billion North American grocery company, one of the biggest food and beverage companies in North America. John T. Cahill, a partner at private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings LLC, will be non-executive chairman of the North American grocery company. At first, Cahill will serve as executive chairman, which reflects the major effort needed to launch and transition to a public company. Cahill will join Kraft Foods in January to begin work on the separation.

Kraft says the snacks company will be the bigger firm, with an estimated $31 billion in annual revenue. The grocery business will keep the Kraft Foods name, while a name for the snacks business, which has not yet been determined, will be up for a vote at the company’s shareholders meeting in May.

Source:www.chicagobusiness.com,www.benzinga.com