Marcel H. M. Smits - chief executive officer
Marcel Smits is executive vice president and chief executive officer. He joined the company in October 2009.
Smits joins Sara Lee from Dutch telecom leader Koninklijke KPN NV, where he served as chief financial officer and as a member of the management board. At KPN, Smits oversaw a number of acquisitions and restructurings which drove top-line growth and bottom-line savings. Prior to KPN, Smits was chief financial officer and a member of the management board of Vendex KBB (now known as Maxeda), a Dutch retail group, where he also managed the IT function. In addition, Smits held various financial and management positions in Europe, South America and Asia during his 13-year career at Unilever.
Smits earned a Master’s degree in business administration and a Master’s degree in tax law both from the University of Amsterdam. He is a certified public accountant. He currently sits on the supervisory boards of Delta Lloyd, a large Dutch insurer. He has been a member of the board of VNO-NCW, the leading Dutch employers’ organization.
About Sara Lee Corporation
Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE) and its leading portfolio of food and beverage brands, including Ball Park, Douwe Egberts, Hillshire Farm, Jimmy Dean, Pickwick Teas, Sara Lee and Senseo, generate nearly $8 billion in annual net sales from continuing operations and employ approximately 20,000 people worldwide. In January, 2011, Sara Lee Corp. announced that it will divide the company into two pure -play publicly-traded companies, one focused on the international coffee and tea market and the other on North American meats. For more information on the company, please visit www.saralee.com.