MINNEAPOLIS — General Mills announced March 5 that Jon Nudi, group president of North America Pet, International, and North America Foodservice, will retire on June 30, following a successful career with the company spanning more than three decades. With this change, Liz Mascolo, current president for Blue Buffalo North America, will be promoted to segment president of North America Pet and join the General Mills Senior Leadership Team, effective March 16.

“Jon will leave a lasting legacy at General Mills,” said Jeff Harmening, chairman and chief executive officer of General Mills. “Over the course of his 32 years, Jon embodied what it means to be a dedicated, diligent and visionary leader. His dedication to delivering outstanding results and his unwavering passion for developing future leaders strengthened us for the long term and will be a key part of the indelible mark he leaves. I sincerely thank him for his unwavering commitment and wish Jon nothing but the best as he begins his next chapter.”

Nudi joined General Mills in 1993 and held numerous roles of increasing responsibility across the company, including leading the US Snacks division and the Europe and Australia segment. Prior to his current role, Nudi served as group president of the North America Retail (NAR) segment for seven years, where he drove a significant improvement in performance, including strong growth in net sales and segment operating profit, as well as market share gains across the majority of NAR categories.

“While I’m proud of how I contributed to our business results, I will most cherish the moments I had connecting and working with the incredibly talented people at General Mills,” Nudi said. “As someone who started his career as a sales rep in central Pennsylvania but grew to work across the company and globe, I am incredibly thankful for the opportunities the company provided, including being able to develop and mentor some of the company’s next leaders.”

Mascolo has 22 years of experience working with General Mills brands and businesses. Prior to her current role, she served as vice president of strategy and growth and vice president of marketing for the Pillsbury and Cheerios business units. Mascolo holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Government from the University of Notre Dame. 

“I am excited to welcome Liz to join our Senior Leadership Team,” Harmening added. “I’m confident her broad experiences across both human food and pet food — as well as her history of driving growth and innovation — will only strengthen our company further.”

Read more about personnel changes throughout the industry.