Brendan Foley will become the new president and chief executive officer of Hunt Valley, MD based McCormick & Co., effective September 1. He will replace Lawrence Kurzius who has led the large spice maker since 2016. Kurzius will continue to serve as executive chairman of the board and Foley has been elected to McCormick’s board, effective June 28. A year ago, Foley was promoted to president of the company and head of global operations.
Prior to joining McCormick in 2014, he worked for H.J. Heinz (now KraftHeinz) for 15 years in marketing and general management roles including president for the North America Zone. Prior to joining Heinz, Foley worked in marketing for General Mills, Inc. and for Ketchum Advertising in Chicago. A native of Dayton, OH, he earned a bachelor of science, marketing and school of business administration from Miami University in Ohio.
“At McCormick, we are the flavor category leader from end-to-end for our customers and consumers, and I am extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished. This required a true team effort; our management team is comprised of the best talent in the industry, and I am particularly excited to see my successor Brendan Foley leading the business forward. With his passion for McCormick and elevation of our commercial growth plans and execution, Brendan has a proven track record of delivering results as a leader. Moreover, he understands the importance of continuing our growth while ensuring we do the right things for people, communities, and the planet. Under Brendan’s leadership, I am confident McCormick will build upon our success, and I look forward to supporting our future growth in my role as chairman,” said Kurzius.
Foley acknowledged Kurzius’ contributions by stating: “I’d like to personally thank Lawrence for his mentorship and continued service to McCormick. I am truly honored and excited about the opportunity to lead this great company with its rich and very promising future. As a global leader in flavor, we are well positioned to drive growth and shareholder value by meeting the growing global demand for high quality, sustainable, healthy, and delicious products. Ensuring McCormick remains a great place to work and grow for our employees and maintaining our performance continuity are top priorities.”
Also praising Kurzius’ leadership skills and results was Michael D. Mangan, lead director of McCormick’s board, who noted: “Lawrence has been a transformational leader for McCormick, bringing our global flavor platform to life through his entrepreneurial spirit, innovative thinking, and growth-oriented vision for the company. During his tenure as CEO sales grew over 50 percent and market capitalization more than doubled. Lawrence is widely credited with driving a period of tremendous growth, performance, and expansion – including top tier organic sales growth and the acquisitions of iconic brands like Frank’s RedHot, French’s, and Cholula in addition to FONA (a McCormick-owned entity which develops and manufacturers flavor solutions), embedding purpose-led performance into McCormick’s culture by championing the company’s industry-leading sustainability efforts, and successfully leading McCormick through the unprecedented global pandemic.”
Kurzius and Foley have partnered closely together on strategic initiatives to drive consistent growth for the Baltimore-area manufacturer and will continue to do so in their go-forward roles. Foley has been a key leader for McCormick for over nine years, serving as a member of the management committee, the company’s highest executive leadership team, since 2015. He has held roles of increasing responsibility, including president – U.S. Consumer; president North America; president Global Consumer, Americas, and Asia; and most recently, as president and chief operating officer which includes full oversight of the company’s supply chain and commercial businesses globally.
The company said that during Foley’s tenure, he led the successful integration of McCormick’s recent acquisitions, as well as the realignment of the Americas region to deliver scale, drive significant cost reductions, and increase commercial focus on growth and innovation.
