ConAgra CEO Rodkin plans to retire in May 2015

ConAgra Foods has announced that CEO Gary M. Rodkin has informed the company board of directors of his intention to retire at the end of the company’s fiscal year, May 2015.

Rodkin in recent years has been a fixture in SN’s Power 50 list of influential food industry figures. The board has established a search committee to identify Rodkin’s successor.

Gary Rodkin

“The board is extremely appreciative of Gary’s leadership, vision and accomplishments over his almost nine years as CEO of ConAgra Foods,” said ConAgra chairman Steven Goldstone. “Under his stewardship, ConAgra Foods has transformed from a holding company into one unified company, with a well-balanced portfolio of consumer, commercial and private brand businesses, and strong operating capabilities.”

Rodkin, 62, joined ConAgra Foods in October 2005. Prior to joining ConAgra Foods, he was chairman and CEO of PepsiCo Beverages and Foods North America, where he led a $10 billion organization that included leading brands such as Pepsi, Gatorade, Quaker Foods and Tropicana. He joined PepsiCo in 1998 after it acquired Tropicana, where he had served as president since 1995.

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From 1979 to 1995, he held marketing and general management positions of increasing responsibility at General Mills, including three years as president of the Yoplait yogurt division.

“It is a great privilege to lead ConAgra Foods, and while I look forward to retirement, I will miss working alongside so many smart and talented people who I’ve watched grow tremendously in my nine years here,” Rodkin said. “I’m pleased we are beginning my last fiscal year at ConAgra Foods by making good progress, and I have deep conviction that we are on the right path to deliver sustainable, profitable growth.”