My First 90 days at Kraft Heinz

In September 2021, after three and a half years I left my role as Senior Director for Global TA at SC Johnson for a new journey when I joined The Kraft Heinz Company as Head of Talent Acquisition.

A lot of people have reached out and asked me “how’s it going”? and “what is it like"? So, I thought I’d write a small piece to share my thoughts thus far on my journey at KHC now it has been a little over 3 months.

So, when I was first approached, I politely rebuffed the opportunity. Why? I was content at SC Johnson and had heard comments about the Kraft Heinz company culture. I was apprehensive. I was also guilty of bias. On the follow up calls, I admired the tenaciousness and humility… I moved forward and during this time I met several senior leaders at the company. Each person was unique in personality, but what was consistent was how intelligent (IQ and EQ), progressive, passionate,  aware, demanding and aspirational each person was. They were … humans and not at all what I had heard. How ignorant was I. But I was also excited. For many years, me, my family and friends have been avid consumers of their delicious global brands – such as Heinz Baked Beans, Heinz ketchup, HP Brown sauce, Kraft cheese singles, Grey Poupon, Philadelphia cream cheese and Maxwell House coffee!

So, I got the role and joined. The odd thing was how some people would congratulate and say “what a great company Kraft Heinz is” and others would be more trepidant and congratulate me with more of an eek-like expression – asking with their eyes ‘what are you doing’?!

For those of you that know me well, know that I am a transparent leader. Someone that tries to be authentic and not rigidly hold a corporate façade. So transparently, I knew that there were some scars of the past. As there were when I joined and worked at all my prior companies.

So what is it REALLY like? My answer to people here is:

I love it. I am loving the opportunity to work with my team, my peers, customers and leaders. I am trusted as a TA Leader to consult and feel empowered to drive business decisions. The catch is: follow the KHC values, operate with integrity and use data and objective justification to tell your story.

One word I would describe KHC is a company in ‘Transformation’. You will hear or read this a lot, as it has become a recurrent word in business. Transformation is traditionally understood as “the act or process of changing completely” and Kraft Heinz is truly engaged in an evolutionary journey. One I am loving and proud to be a part of. The journey is rooted with strong leadership - a mixture of legacy experience and new perspectives acquired over recent years. Last year the company rejuvenated its purpose, vision, values and leadership principles. I find many of these refreshing, challenging and excited. Let me share some learnings of words and meaning: “We own it” . Simple. It describes a culture built on growth, autonomy, commitment and delivery. “We demand diversity“.  This formidable description does not require much explanation, I have a deep affection of how inclusion feels insisted upon at Kraft Heinz. Inclusion feels normal not forced. There are four more – check them out.  The Leadership Principles hone in the need to energize teams, build empathy, move with speed, agility, creativity and “grow people to their full potential”.

In my three months, I have seen a company that is consumer obsessed and creates an environment and opportunities to grow. But grow in your own way, whether that be through development, ownership or impact. I have experienced a company that cares about employee safety in the midst of a pandemic – exhibited in RTO at office location and future hybrid ways of working in the future once we are fully back to office life.

The Chicago office (Aon Center) is incredible. The facilities and IT Teams have done a fantastic job creating a fun, product infused and collaborative work environment. Kraft Heinz is a company focused on innovation and creativity and in my short time this has been evident in some rather cool marketing moments such as ideas like Heinz on Mars and our recent ‘80s-inspired content partnership for U.S. late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel’s live TV special.

So, it is going well!

Mark

Head of Talent Acquisition

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