February 16/Northfield, Ill./PRNewswire -- Kraft Foods announced Marc S. Firestone, executive vice president, corporate and legal affairs, and general counsel, will leave the company in April to rejoin Philip Morris International in Lausanne, Switzerland. Firestone previously worked at PMI before joining Kraft Foods in 2003. Gerhard "Gerd" W. Pleuhs, will succeed Firestone as executive vice president, legal affairs and general counsel. Pleuhs currently serves as senior vice president and deputy general counsel for Kraft Foods.
"We sincerely thank Marc for his many contributions," said chairman and CEO Irene Rosenfeld. "He provided critical leadership during some of our key transformational initiatives, including when we became a fully independent company from Altria, our acquisitions of LU and Cadbury, divestitures of numerous businesses, and significant litigation to protect and enhance our business. His wise counsel will be missed, but we respect his desire to return to a company and city that he knows well."