BATTLE CREEK, MICH. — Rodrigo Lance has been promoted to senior vice president of global supply chain at Kellogg Co. He will succeed Alistair Hirst, who will be retiring later this year.
Mr. Lance began his career at Kellogg in 1997 and most recently has been vice president of Kellogg North America supply chain since November 2019. He has held a variety of roles during his 25 years at Kellogg, including production supervisor at the company’s Queretaro, Mexico, plant, plant manager in Guatemala; Linares, Mexico; and Columbus, Ga.; vice president of snacks engineering, vice president of supply chain for Latin America and vice president of supply chain for Europe.
“Rodrigo is a natural fit to lead our global supply chain organization,” Mr. Hirst said. “He has proven through his extensive experience — including over the last two years when he guided our KNA supply chain through the most challenging supply and cost environment in memory — that he is highly capable of leading complex organizations that drive successful execution and prioritize the safety of our people.”
Mr. Hirst, meanwhile, has been with Kellogg since 1984. He held several roles of increasing responsibility at Kellogg’s Springs, South Africa, plant and in 1993 was named production manager at Kellogg’s Botany, Australia, plant. In 1995, he returned to South Africa as plant manager in Springs and, in 1997, was named director of supply chain at the facility. He relocated to the Manchester, England, facility in 2001 to become director of procurement and, in 2004, was named European logistics director.
In 2005, he relocated to the United States to serve as Kellogg’s vice president of global procurement. He was named senior vice president of snacks supply chain in 2008 and senior vice president of North America supply chain in 2011.
“The impact Alistair has had on Kellogg’s success during his nearly four decades has been tremendous,” said Steven A. Cahillane, president and chief executive officer. “Since he assumed leadership of our global supply chain organization in 2012, he has transformed the function through Kellogg Work System (KWS), driving employee engagement and standard work practices for impactful business results. He has helped Kellogg become an industry leader in safety and expanded our supply chain capabilities, including driving our digital transformation.
“His leadership has been especially valuable during the pandemic and related worldwide supply disruptions, and we are grateful that he chose to stay on to help the company navigate this challenging time before retiring. The last several years have put enormous pressure on our entire supply chain, but the team continues to persevere in part because of Alistair’s leadership and relentless commitment to execution excellence. We thank him for his years of dedication and passion and congratulate him on his well-deserved retirement.”
