Dive Brief:
- Kimberly-Clark on Wednesday announced the executive leadership team and organizational structure it will adopt following its pending acquisition of consumer health firm and Tylenol maker Kenvue.
- CFO Nelson Urdaneta will continue to serve as finance chief for the combined entity, while Mike Hsu will continue to serve as CEO and executive chairman, the Dallas, Texas-based company said in the Wednesday press release. The company also listed several other executives who will report to Hsu, including Russ Torres, who will serve as group president and chief operating officer, and Stacey Valy Panayiotou, who will serve as chief human resources officer.
- “Our team was selected after a thorough and thoughtful process and reflects leaders with the right blend of experience, capabilities, and technical expertise to unlock the full potential of our combined portfolio, iconic brands, and talented people,” Hsu said in a statement included in the release. “Our structure is designed to align our teams around a shared mindset of ownership, agility, and speed.”
Dive Insight:
Urdaneta took the CFO seat in 2022 after a 16-year span at food and confectionary company Mondelēz International, where he held such roles as SVP, treasurer and corporate controller, according to a securities filing at the time.
Kimberly-Clark, which owns more than 150 household product brands including Huggies diapers and Kotex feminine care, agreed to acquire Kenvue in one of the largest merger and acquisition deals last year. The cash-and-stock transaction granted Kenvue an enterprise value of almost $50 billion, according to the Nov. 3, 2025 press release announcing the deal.
Shareholders for Kimberly-Clark approved the merger agreement in January. The deal remains on track to close in the latter half of this year, subject to regulatory approval, the company said Wednesday.
After the close, the company will operate in four business segments, “each driving a focus on winning its local markets,” Kimberly-Clark said Wednesday. That includes operating in North America, Asia Pacific Focus Markets— a group including Greater China, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Indonesia — Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Enterprise Markets. The final market segment will be comprised of Latin America, India, Southeast Asia markets and Japan.
Also Wednesday, the soon-to-be acquired Kenvue — which spun off from Johnson & Johnson in 2023 — announced its CFO Amit Banati will step down from his role effective May 12, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Banati, an alum of snack and frozen food firm Kellanova, is set to step down after just a year in Kenvue’s top financial seat after taking the role last May, CFO Dive reported at the time. He joined as the consumer health company was facing rising pressures both from tariffs and economic uncertainty, as well as calls from activist investors urging the business to sell off certain assets, before its sale to Kimberly-Clark was announced in November.
Heather Howlett and the company’s current chief accounting officer, will serve as interim finance chief as of the May 12 effective date, according to the SEC filing. Howlett will receive a monthly stipend of $125,000 in addition to her current compensation package each month she serves as interim CFO, the company said.
