Pinnacle Foods elects new board member and announces changes to Board committees

Pinnacle Foods Inc. (NYSE: PF) today announced changes to its Board of Directors, including the election of a new independent director and modifications to its Board committee composition.  These changes are consistent with NYSE governance requirements for non-controlled companies that now apply to Pinnacle, following Blackstone’s sale of shares and current ownership interest in the Company of less than 17%. 

The Board elected Muktesh (“Micky”) Pant, Chief Executive Officer of KFC, a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc., as an independent director of the Company and a member of the Board’s Audit Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.  Mr. Pant has been CEO of KFC since January 2014.  Prior to that, he held other leadership positions at Yum! Brands, including CEO of Yum! Restaurants International, President of Global Branding for Yum! Brands and President of Taco Bell International.  Prior to joining Yum! Brands, Mr. Pant held roles at Unilever, PepsiCo, Inc. and Reebok International Ltd.  He replaces Jeff Overly, Blackstone Operating Partner, who stepped down from the Board, in light of Blackstone’s reduced ownership position.

Commenting on the announcement, Pinnacle Foods Chairman Roger Deromedi stated, “The changes announced today are consistent with our ongoing evolution since Pinnacle’s IPO in March 2013.  The addition of Micky, a strong CEO and marketer, will bring another dimension of business insight and experience to our Board.  As we welcome Micky, on behalf of the Board and the Company, I want to thank Jeff for his contributions and service to Pinnacle.  His thought leadership in supply chain and operational excellence has been invaluable to us.”

The composition of the Company’s Board committees, reflecting the modifications made in compliance with NYSE Listing Standards, is listed below.   For more information about Pinnacle Board members please visit the Company’s website. 

Audit Committee*

• Raymond Silcock (Chair)
• Jane Nielsen
• Micky Pant

*All Audit Committee directors are independent.

Compensation Committee*

• Jane Nielsen (Chair)
• Roger Deromedi
• Ann Fandozzi
• Prakash Melwani
• Raymond Silcock

*The majority of the Compensation Committee is independent – Prakash Melwani and Roger Deromedi are non-independent directors.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee*

• Ann Fandozzi (Chair)
• Jason Giordano
• Micky Pant

*The majority of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is independent – Jason Giordano is a non-independent director.