Tony Vernon
{{Short description|United States businessman}}
{{About|the business executive|psychology professor|Philip A. Vernon}}
W. Anthony Vernon is a business executive who was the first chief executive officer of Kraft Foods after it was spun off from the Mondelēz International in 2012. Prior to his time at Kraft, he had a 23-year career at Johnson & Johnson and spent three years with Ripplewood Holdings. When he took on this position his salary increased to $1m per annum. Vernon’s overall compensation was $9.19 million for 2013.{{cite web|last1=Wohl|first1=Jessica|title=Kraft CEO pulls in more than $9 million in pay in 2013|date=14 March 2014 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2014/03/14/kraft-ceo-pulls-in-more-than-9-million-in-pay-in-2013/|publisher=Chicago Tribune|access-date=22 March 2015}}
Education
Vernon holds a bachelor's degree from Lawrence University in history and a Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aDUqG0ZWY77A|title=Kraft Foods Names Tony Vernon President, Kraft Foods North |accessdate=2014-12-19|date=2009-06-22|publisher=Bloomberg News}}
Career
During his 23-year career at Johnson & Johnson, Vernon ran independent business units and led consumer brands such as Tylenol, Motrin, Pepcid AC, Imodium and
Splenda. He then served as healthcare industry partner of Ripplewood Holdings for three years before joining Kraft in 2009. In June 2009, Kraft Foods Inc. announced that Vernon would become President of Kraft Foods North America that August, replacing Rick Searer. In December 2011, when the company announced that it would reorganize in 2012, Vernon was announced as the CEO of the grocery business that became the current incarnation of Kraft.{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2011/12/05/kraft-chooses-leaders-for-separate-companies/|title=Kraft chooses leaders for separate companies|access-date=2014-12-19|date=2011-12-05|work=Chicago Tribune|author=York, Emily Bryson}} After Mondelēz International spun off Kraft on October 1, 2012, Vernon became CEO.{{cite web|url=https://adage.com/article/news/kraft-s-grocery-company-plans-marketing-boost/237084/|title=Kraft's New Grocery Company Plans Marketing Boost in Search of 'Renaissance': CEO Tony Vernon Outlines Plans in Advance of Oct. 1 Split|accessdate=2014-12-19|date=2012-09-07|work=Advertising Age|author=Schultz, E. J.}} At the time of the split, Kraft Foods (which included brands such as Oscar Mayer, Planters, Velveeta, Kool-Aid, Miracle Whip, Capri Sun, A1, Cool Whip and Jell-O) was the fourth-largest food and beverage company in North America, trailing PepsiCo, Nestle and Coca-Cola. His salary jumped by 49% during his first year as CEO to $6.83 million.{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2013/04/05/krafts-vernon-sees-pay-rise-49-as-ceo/|title=Kraft's Vernon sees pay rise 49% as CEO|access-date=2014-12-26|date=2013-04-05|work=Chicago Tribune|author=York, Emily Bryson}} On December 18, 2014, the company announced that Vernon intended to retire as CEO effective from December 28, and that the company planned to replace him with Chairman John Cahill.{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/kraft-foods-group-ceo-to-retire-names-chairman-successor-1418912458|title=Kraft Foods Announces CEO Change: Chairman Cahill Set to Replace Vernon, Spur Changes at Food Company|accessdate=2014-12-19|date=2014-12-18|work=The Wall Street Journal|author= Gasparro, Annie and Joann S. Lublin}}{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/w-vernon/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130212202633/http://www.forbes.com/profile/w-vernon/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 12, 2013 |title=W Vernon: Profile |work=Forbes |accessdate=2015-01-05}}
Personal data
Vernon is married with three adult sons.{{citation needed|date=June 2018}}