By Anuja Bharat Mistry and Alexander Marrow
Sept 30 (Reuters) - General Mills on Wednesday appointed Chief Operating Officer Dana McNabb as its CEO, leaning on an insider to steer the company through a difficult environment of high inflation, low consumer spending and private labels eroding branded goods' market share.
Consumer goods firms have been changing CEOs as boards run out of patience with sluggish growth and companies battle US tariff uncertainty and elevated supply-chain costs from the Middle
East conflict while struggling to connect with younger shoppers.
McNabb will succeed Jeff Harmening on January 1, when he becomes the executive chair, after nearly a decade as CEO during which he spearheaded the Cheerios maker's entry into the faster-growing pet-food market through its Blue Buffalo deal, reshaped its portfolio and stepped up investment in digital capabilities.
McNabb "has a tall task ahead of her," said Stephanie Link, chief investment strategist at General Mills investor Hightower Advisors.
"The goal for her is to return the company to profitable growth, build on other divestitures beyond North American yogurt to narrow the product set and focus on core brands – particularly health-focused offerings – and modernize the supply chain," she said.
General Mills is facing higher costs, including tariff-related increases in packaging materials, while seeking price hikes to protect its under-pressure margins.
McNabb, 50, has spent 27 years at General Mills and held several senior leadership roles across general management, enterprise strategy, marketing and international operations.
She will become General Mills' first woman CEO and one of the relatively few women leading a major US consumer-products company.
"Dana McNabb's appointment looks like a credible choice to accelerate General Mills' recovery, but investors will need evidence that the company can regain shoppers while rebuilding profitability," said Brian Mulberry, chief market strategist at Zacks Investment Management.
"Her biggest challenge is making familiar brands worth paying for in a market where consumers remain highly selective," he added.
Earlier this month, General Mills beat first-quarter sales and profit estimates and reaffirmed its annual forecast.
Shares of the company, which are down about 27% so far this year, dipped about 3% in morning trading.
(Reporting by Anuja Bharat Mistry in Bengaluru and Alexander Marrow in London; Editing by Diti Pujara and Sriraj Kalluvila)
