Craig Slavtcheff
EVP & Chief R&D Innovation Officer
Campbell Soup
Craig Slavtcheff is executive vice president, chief R&D and innovation officer of Campbell Soup Company. He leads Campbell’s Global R&D function, including Innovation strategy and execution, divisional product development, and corporate science and technology, as well as regulatory, nutrition, and culinary teams. Since joining Campbell in 2012, he has led various teams across divisions to drive consumer-preferred innovations that combine culinary inspiration with product and packaging technology. He has transformed the company’s innovation processes, leveraging advanced sensory design methodologies and building agile, nimble development teams that mine consumer insights and translate them into superior product designs. In his more than 30-year career in consumer packaged goods, he has held several leadership positions in North America and Asia. He holds more than 80 patents. He earned his bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Connecticut.
Transformational Innovation Processes Hardwired into a 150-year Old Company: Case Study about Campbell Soup Company
Consumer macro trends—including interests in food exploration, nostalgia, ag-tech and sustainability—continue to drive the high pace of innovation. To match that pace, food companies have to innovate on how they innovate argues Craig Slavtcheff, Campbell Soup Company’s Executive Vice President, Chief R&D and Innovation Officer. For its part, Campbell Soup has focused on the three drivers of “speed to insight,” “speed to design,” and “speed to execution.” Slavtcheff shares how Campbell Soup looked to the world of tech as inspiration to transform its innovation processes. In doing so, this 150+ year old history has a new approach inventing delicious, nutrition, safe and affordable foods.