FOOD INDUSTRY Kellogg's CEO in tough spot

Jim Jenness says he plans to lead Kellogg for a while, but others aren't so sure.
BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) -- When Kellogg Co. announced late last month that its board had tapped an outside director to become the cereal giant's next chairman and chief executive officer, some financial analysts questioned the move.
They wondered whether Jim Jenness, a 58-year-old former advertising executive from Chicago, was chosen merely to keep the seat warm until the board was ready to turn over control of the company to David Mackay, a 49-year-old Australian who is Kellogg's highly regarded president and chief operating officer.
Analysts at Deutsche Bank Securities downgraded Kellogg from "buy" to "hold" on Nov. 29, the day of Jenness' appointment.
The next day, John M. McMillin, an analyst with Prudential Equity Group, released a report acknowledging Jenness' marketing acumen but saying his appointment "brings uncertainty."
Tough act to follow
Part of that is because Jenness has such a difficult act to follow.
Under the charismatic and approachable Carlos Gutierrez, 51, who left after President Bush picked him to succeed Donald Evans as the U.S. secretary of commerce, a struggling Kellogg made a remarkable turnaround.
After Gutierrez took over as CEO in 1999, Kellogg's net sales rose from $6.2 billion that year to $8.8 billion last year, a 43 percent increase, and the company surpassed General Mills Inc. to be the nation's largest cereal maker. Kellogg's stock has doubled in value since early 2000 and now trades around $45 a share.
Gutierrez crafted an ambitious, three-year turnaround plan that in 2001 featured Kellogg's acquisition of cookie and cracker maker Keebler Foods Co. and a complete restructuring of its global business units. Revenues and profits started climbing the following year and the company surpassed sales and earnings goals in 2003.
Suggesting he plans no major changes to Gutierrez's game plan, Jenness told The Associated Press in an interview that the company will pursue the "terrific, smart, intelligent concepts and strategies" now in place.
Jenness also dismisses speculative talk about his tenure, saying he plans to be around for a while.
r, as do the rest of Kellogg's senior managers.
"The team is fantastic and that's one of the things, I'm sure, underlying why the board decided to have me come in at this particular time -- it's really to keep that team going, keep them moving along," he said.
But while Jenness has never been a Kellogg employee, he's no outsider. His association with the company dates to 1974, when he started working on the company's account for Leo Burnett Co., Kellogg's major advertising agency.
Jenness ascended to vice chairman and COO at Burnett, which created Kellogg's icon, Tony the Tiger, more than half a century ago. For years, he traveled the world with Kellogg's leaders to visit the company's various international units and in 2000 he was named to the board.