Bio: Douglas R. Conant
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Bio: Douglas R. Conant
Douglas R. Conant
There are few things as iconic or as much a part of Americana as the instantly recognizable red-and-white Campbell Soup can. When Douglas Conant was tapped as the president and CEO of the Campbell Soup Company in 2001, his job was to refresh the soup seller’s image. At the time, soup sales were falling and Campbell was losing market share in that area, the company hoped that Conant would inject the much-needed jolt of energy it needed.
Conant was the right man for the job, on resume and the strength of his achievements. He began is career at General Mills, overseeing the prepackaged food division. Some 10 years later, Conan was hired by Kraft as the vice president of strategy, where he cut his chops on developing innovative marketing strategies. He rose through the ranks at the food company and became director of strategy in 1989.
In 1992, Conan joined Nabisco where he would achieve several huge coups. First, he and his team successfully rebranded Newton cookies, and ended up doubling the volume of sales. Using his marketing skills, he also helped launch Snackwells, a category of snacks for health conscious buyers. In 1993, several Snackwells brands reached $100 million in sales.
Born in Chicago, Conant stayed close to home and received both his BA and MBA from Northwestern University. He is married and has three children.
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