The news follows the announcement earlier this week that Abrams-Rivera was stepping down from his position as president of Campbell Snacks.
Abrams-Rivera led Campbell’s snack business since 2018, which generated approximately $3.8bn in sales in fiscal 2019 under his leadership, making it the No. 3 snacks company in the US.
He got a start in the F&B industry at Kraft Foods, where he held several roles, including senior VP of marketing and strategy for developing markets, VP of Nabisco Savoury Snacks and VP of global biscuits brands.
He has also held the positions of president of Campbell’s Pepperidge Farm subsidiary and president of gum and candy for Mondelēz Latin America.
“The US represents the majority of our company’s overall business, so this is an enormously important role. I have every confidence that Carlos is the visionary leader we need to drive the US business forward at this moment of transformation,” said Miguel Patricio, who stepped into the role as Kraft Heinz’s CEO in July last year.
“Carlos has successfully implemented a strategic approach to reinvigorating brands and has a strong track record of growing businesses with a consumer-first focus to consistently drive strong business results.”
Familiar territory
Abrams-Rivera said, “I am honoured to step into the role of US zone president and look forward to working closely with Miguel and the strong, capable senior leaders he’s assembled at Kraft Heinz.
“I’m also very excited to bring my consumer insights passion to drive growth for so many world-class brands, many of which are already very familiar to me.”