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By Sanskriti Shekhar
April 13 (Reuters) - Conagra Brands on Monday named J.M. Smucker executive John Brase as its new CEO, to steer the packaged food maker through softening consumer spending in the U.S. and a shifting tariff and geopolitical environment.
Brase will succeed Sean Connolly, who will step down after more than 11 years at the helm of Conagra and leave the board on May 31.
The CEO change comes less than a month after the company lowered its annual profit forecast nL6N40K0UW, citing increased uncertainty tied to global trade tensions.
"We view the appointment of John Brase as welcome, introducing fresh perspective at a time when the broader food sector continues to navigate elevated uncertainty," said Scott Marks, Jefferies analyst.
Brase, 58, will join the company’s board of directors and assume the CEO role on June 1. An industry veteran, he most recently served as president and chief operating officer of J.M. Smucker and prior to that, spent roughly three decades at Procter & Gamble.
Connolly, during his tenure, had invested heavily in innovation, expanded the company’s presence in frozen foods and snacks, acquired Birds Eye maker Pinnacle Foods and also divested some non-core businesses.
He had joined in 2015 from Hillshire Brands, where he was the CEO from the time of its formation as an independent company to its sale to Tyson Foods.
Connolly also oversaw a run-up in Conagra’s shares to a record high of $41.68 in 2017, though the stock has lost about 60% of its value in the last nearly three years.
Shares of the company fell 3% to $14.62 in early trade on Monday to its lowest since July 2009.
"Conagra remains in a tight position fundamentally .... Conagra faces a difficult balancing act between financial repair and reinvestment, leaving the overall setup challenging in the near to intermediate term," Marks added.
The company has also been under pressure from shifting consumer tastes linked to appetite-suppressing GLP-1 drugs for weight loss.