Dive Brief:

• The CFO of Kellanova — the snack and frozen food giant formerly known as Kellogg Company — has resigned to take the top financial seat at consumer health firm Kenvue effective May 12, according to securities filings from both entities.
• Amit Banati, 56, will succeed CFO Paul Ruh at Summit, New Jersey-based Kenvue, formerly the consumer healthcare division of Johnson & Johnson, according to the company’s Thursday press release and filing. Ruh will remain with the company for a period to ensure a smooth transition.
• The move comes less than a year after fellow snack company Mars Inc. entered into an agreement to acquire Kellanova for $35.9 billion, according to an August 2024 announcement. Last month, Mars announced the pricing of $26 billion of senior notes, proceeds of which will be utilized to fund the acquisition.   

Dive Insight:

Banati will step down from his role at the Chicago, Illinois-based Kellanova effective May 9, the company said in a Thursday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company’s board tapped John Renwick, its VP of investor relations and corporate planning, to serve as acting SVP and CFO also effective as of May 9, according to the filing.

As Kenvue’s CFO, Banati — a veteran of consumer brands including Proctor & Gamble and Cadburys Schweppes, among others — is set to receive an annual base salary of $900,000 and will also be eligible for an annual bonus opportunity comprised of 110% of his base, according to Kenvue’s Thursday SEC filing.

Banati is also set to receive compensation from Kenvue related to a merger at his current employer, Kellanova. The firm, which operates snack brands including Pop-Tarts, Pringles and Eggo waffles, became a standalone company in 2023 after splitting with Kellogg’s North American cereal unit, WK Kellogg Co., according to an August 2024 report by Food Dive. Kellanova shareholders approved the Mars deal in November, according to its first quarter earnings report.

“Amit has been instrumental in returning Kellogg Company to growth through our Deploy for Growth strategy, the spinoff of our North America cereal business and creation of Kellanova, and now preparing to join with Mars, approvals pending,” the company said in a statement emailed to CFO Dive. “We wish Amit all the best in his new chapter and congratulate John on this appointment.”

Banati is set to receive a cash bonus of $4 million from Kenvue “paid upon the closing of the merger transaction between Mars Inc. and Kellanova (the “Transaction”), if such closing occurs no later than August 13, 2026 (the “Transaction Condition”)” as well as an RSU grant of $2.5 million within two months of the transaction, according to the Kenvue filing.

Banati will also receive a one-time cash bonus of $2.5 million to be paid shortly after joining the company on the May 12 effective date, and an award of restricted stock units with a fair market value of $4 million, to be paid within two months of the effective date.

For its first quarter ended March 29, Kellanova reported net sales of just over $3 billion, a 3.6% slump from the prior year period, according to its earnings report. Adjusted operating profit fell by 13% to $441 million.

For Kenvue’s part, the CFO change comes approximately two years after the consumer health company spun off as an independent entity from Johnson & Johnson in August 2023, according to a press release at the time.

The company, which operates consumer brands including Listerine, Neutrogena and Tylenol has faced challenges from several activist investors over the past year amid rising competition for its products in the skincare industry — with TOMS Capital Management, also a Kellanova stakeholder, urging Kenvue to sell off certain assets, Bloomberg reported in March. The move followed after Kenvue appointed Starboard Value CEO Jeffrey Smith to its board to avert a proxy battle, according to Bloomberg.

Separately on Thursday, Kenvue also released financial results for its first quarter, reporting net sales decreased by 3.9% from the prior year period to reach $3.7 billion for the quarter ended March 30. The firm is “working to reduce the financial impact of tariffs through a number of mitigation actions,” according to its earnings release.

Kenvue declined to comment beyond its press release. 

This is a developing story on CFO Dive.