Chicago-based Kraft Heinz announced Tuesday that Steve Cahillane will lead the global food company.Cahillane, who previously served as CEO of Chicago-based Kellanova, will become CEO Jan. 1 and will join the company's board of directors, according to Kraft Heinz.The announcement comes three months after the company said it would be splitting into two independent, publicly traded companies. The separation is expected to be completed in the second half of 2026. The new companies are temporarily called Global Taste Elevation and North American Grocery. Global Taste Elevation will encompass the faster-growing sauces, spreads and seasonings brands, including Heinz, Philadelphia and Kraft Mac Cheese. North American Grocery will include legacy brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables.After the split, Cahillane will become CEO of Global Taste Elevation and remain on the company’s board of directors.“Like millions of people around the world, I have a deeply personal connection to the Kraft Heinz brands, dating back to my childhood," Cahillane said in a news release. "I’ve devoted my entire career to building brands, and the opportunity to do the same with Kraft Heinz’s iconic portfolio is a dream come true. I’m confident the planned separation will accelerate the Company’s ability to compete and win in today’s environment and unlock the immense opportunity in front of us.”The separation follows the 2015 merger of Kraft and Heinz, which created the fifth-largest food and beverage company in the world. But the merger failed to generate a durable improvement in sales and profitability, according to Morningstar analyst Erin Lash.In the years since, the company suffered from shifting consumer tastes toward health-conscious foods and away from processed foods that populate the brand’s portfolio, like Velveeta Cheese and Oscar Mayer lunch meats.“The separation is designed to maximize Kraft Heinz’s capabilities and brands while reducing complexity, allowing both new companies to more effectively deploy resources toward their distinct strategic priorities,” the company said in a news release.Cahillane isn’t new to Chicago. A graduate of Northwestern University, he founded State Street Brewing Co. in 1995. He sold the Chicago brewery two years later to Indiana-based Evansville Brewing Co., the brewery's producer, the Chicago Tribune reported at the time.Since then, Cahillane has held senior leadership positions at Coors Distribution, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Coca-Cola and Nature’s Bounty Co.He became CEO of Kellogg in 2017, leading the company through a split into two publicly traded companies: WK Kellogg, encompassing the North American cereal business, and Kellanova, which includes the international cereal portfolio and snack brands like Pringles and Pop-Tarts. Cahillane stayed on as Kellanova’s CEO. The company's acquisition by MM maker Mars was completed earlier this month.Cahillane will succeed Carlos Abrams-Rivera, who will step down from Kraft Heinz in January and serve in an advisory role through March 6, 2026.Abrams-Rivera was initially tapped to lead North American Grocery, but Kraft Heinz said in its Tuesday news release that the board would do a global search for a CEO.The company didn't return a request for comment on Abrams-Rivera's departure. Related Chicago food companies like Mush, Farmer’s Fridge flourish as consumers move away from processed foods San Francisco sues Chicago food giants over ultra-processed products ...read more read less