Mark Alan Clouse (born July 5, 1968) is an American businessman who is the president of the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). A former U.S. Army helicopter pilot and food industry executive, he spent two decades at Kraft Foods and successor Mondelez International prior to serving CEO of Pinnacle Foods and president and CEO of the The Campbell's Company. Clouse was named Commanders' president in late 2024.

Mark Clouse
Born
Mark Alan Clouse

(1968-07-05) July 5, 1968 (age 56)
United States
EducationUnited States Military Academy (BA)
TitlePresident and CEO, Campbell Soup Company
Term2019–2024
Children2

Education and military career

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Mark Alan Clouse[1] attended Northwest High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, graduating in 1986.[2][3] He attended the United States Military Academy in New York, playing for the Black Knights basketball team and earning a Bachelor of Science degree in economics.[4] Following graduation, he served in the United States Army as a helicopter pilot for six years and rose to the rank of captain before retiring in 1996.[2][3][5][6]

Business career

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Kraft Foods / Mondelez (1996–2016)

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Clouse joined Kraft Foods in 1996.[5][2] He was president of Kraft Foods Greater China from 2006 to 2008.[5][2][7][8][9] He was managing director of Kraft Foods Brazil from 2008 to 2010.[5][2][7][8][10] In 2010 he was appointed Senior Vice President of the Biscuits Global Category, a position he held until 2011,[5][11] at which time he became President of Kraft's Snacks and Confectionery business in North America.[5][12][13]

In October 2012, Kraft Foods changed its name to Mondelez International and spun off its North American grocery business as Kraft Foods Group.[14][15][16][17] At that time Clouse became Executive Vice President and President of North America at Mondelez.[5][7][18] In late July 2014 he was appointed to the newly created position of Chief Growth Officer, where his responsibilities included accountability for all key areas of the company's growth strategy, and oversight of teams responsible for corporate strategy, global categories, global marketing, global sales, and research, development, and quality.[7][19][5][20][21] In January 2016 he was promoted to the newly created position of Chief Commercial Officer, with oversight of the execution of the company's commercial growth plan for all five geographic regions, and oversight of the global sales function.[22][23][24][5]

Pinnacle Foods (2016–2018)

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Clouse was hired as CEO of the packaged-foods company Pinnacle Foods in May 2016.[25][5] During his tenure as CEO, Pinnacle Foods' stock climbed 54%, in contrast to most other packaged-food companies, which lost share value.[26] He steered the company to being acquired by Conagra in 2018 for $10.9 billion, leaving after the company ceased being publicly traded as a subsidiary of Conagra.[27][28][26]

Campbell's (2019–2024)

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Clouse was named president and CEO of The Campbell's Company in December 2018 and took over in January 2019.[29][8][30] The hiring was the result of a seven-month search after former CEO Denise Morrison resigned abruptly in May 2018.[31][32][29][30]

Washington Commanders (2025–present)

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In December 2024, Clouse announced his retirement from Campbell's and was named the president of the Washington Commanders, an American football team belonging to the National Football League (NFL). His term begins in February 2025, with him overseeing the team's business operations.[4][33]

Personal life

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Clouse met and married his wife Kathy in the 1990s while he was in the Army.[2] They live in New Jersey and have two sons.[34][2]

References

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  1. ^ "Mark Alan Clouse". West Point Association of Graduates. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Feinstein, John. "Mission First: Filling His Role". Army West Point Athletics. November 1, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Feinstein, John. "Mark Clouse: Filling His Role". In: Beretta, Bob (ed). Mission First: Profiles of Army West Point Athletics. Army Athletic Association, 2016. pp. 17–19.
  4. ^ a b DeArdo, Bryan (December 3, 2024). "Commanders hire Campbell's CEO Mark Clouse as team's new president". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Mondelez International. "Form 8-K". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. October 27, 2015.
  6. ^ Walsh, Jim. "Million-dollar man: Former Pinnacle Foods boss Mark Clouse named Campbell Soup CEO". Courier-Post. December 20, 2018.
  7. ^ a b c d "Mondelez International Appoints Mark Clouse as Chief Growth Officer". MondelezInternational.com. July 31, 2014.
  8. ^ a b c "Campbell Names Mark A. Clouse President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of the Board". BusinessWire. December 20, 2018.
  9. ^ Madden, Normandy. "Kraft Gives Brands A Twist So They'll Have More Appeal In China". Ad Age. August 27, 2007.
  10. ^ Rosenfeld, Irene. "Inside the Kraft Foods Transformation". Strategy&Business. Autumn 2009; Issue 56. August 27, 2009.
  11. ^ Elliott, Stuart. "Food Brands Get Sociable on Facebook and Twitter". New York Times. June 30, 2010.
  12. ^ Kraft Foods Inc. "Form 8-K". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. January 9, 2012. p. 2.
  13. ^ "What Makes Kraft's Talent Development So Successful?". DiversityInc. September 4, 2012.
  14. ^ "Kraft Foods Proposes Mondelēz International, Inc. As New Name For Global Snacks Company". Mondelez International. March 21, 2012.
  15. ^ "Kraft to rename snack unit 'Mondelez'". CNN Money. March 21, 2012.
  16. ^ "Mondelez International Completes Spin-Off of Its North American Grocery Business". PR Newswire. October 1, 2012.
  17. ^ "Kraft Food to rebrand as Mondelez International later this year". The Drum. March 22, 2012.
  18. ^
  19. ^ Lazare, Lewis. "Mondelez names chief growth officer". Chicago Business Journal. August 1, 2014.
  20. ^ "Clouse Up, West Out at Mondelez" Archived 2017-10-16 at the Wayback Machine. Brand-Innovators.com. July 31, 2014.
  21. ^ Schultz, E. J. "Mondelez CMO Mary Beth West To Exit". Ad Age. July 31, 2014.
  22. ^ Gasparro, Annie. "Mondelez Profit Soars on Gain, Management Shift Unveiled". Wall Street Journal. October 28, 2015.
  23. ^ "The Lowdown: Butterball Is Selling Norman Rockwell Turkeys". Ad Age. October 28, 2015.
  24. ^ "Pinnacle Foods Inc. Names Mark A. Clouse Chief Executive Officer and Director of the Board". PR Newswire. April 27, 2016.
  25. ^ Jamerson, Joshua. "Pinnacle Foods Taps Mondelez's Clouse as CEO". Wall Street Journal. April 27, 2016.
  26. ^ a b Naidu, Richa; Herbst-Bayliss, Svea. "Campbell Soup names industry veteran Mark Clouse as new CEO". Reuters. December 20, 2018.
  27. ^ Halzack, Sarah. "Campbell's New CEO Brings the Right Ingredients". Bloomberg. December 20, 2018.
  28. ^ Naidu, Richa; Herbst-Bayliss, Svea. "Exclusive: Campbell Soup steps up CEO search, COO a contender - sources". Reuters. September 9, 2018.
  29. ^ a b Gasparro, Annie. "Campbell Names Mark Clouse New CEO". Wall Street Journal. December 20, 2018.
  30. ^ a b Hilario, Kenneth. "Campbell Soup Co. names Mark Clouse as its new CEO". Philadelphia Business Journal. December 20, 2018.
  31. ^ Naidu, Richa. "Incoming Campbell Soup CEO Clouse to be paid up to $7.4 million in 2019". Reuters. December 21, 2018.
  32. ^ Gasparro, Annie; Lombardo, Cara. "Campbell Zeroes In on Ex-Pinnacle Foods Chief Mark Clouse for CEO Job". Wall Street Journal. November 27, 2018.
  33. ^ "The Campbell's Company Board of Directors Elects Mick Beekhuizen Chief Executive Officer to Succeed Mark Clouse". thecampbellscompany.com. December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  34. ^ Noto, Anthony. "Campbell Soup aims at former Pinnacle Foods chief to take CEO job". New York Business Journal. November 28, 2018.
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