Mark Clouse is leaving one team with a winning record to join another.
The Campbell’s Company (CPB) — maker of iconic chicken noodle soup and Rao’s pasta sauce — said late Tuesday that Clouse will retire to become president of the NFL’s Washington Commanders. He has been CEO since 2019.
Snagging Clouse’s corner office is Mick Beekhuizen. He joined Clouse’s executive team in September 2019 as CFO and has led the $5.3 billion meals and beverage division as president since 2022.
Beekhuizen will assume the role officially on Feb. 1, 2025.
Shares of Campbell’s fell nearly 2% in pre-market trading Wednesday on the news, as well as the company only reaffirming its full-year guidance.
“Truth be told in the world of, you know, childhood dreams and what my life has consisted of — sports has been a foundational part of everything that I’ve done. I got two kids that have played college football. I got to West Point playing basketball. It’s always been an idea or a goal for me to find my way into sports,” Clouse told Yahoo Finance by phone. “I feel so good about where we are at Campbell’s. We had a great succession plan in place. And I loved every minute here. And it would only have been something like this that would have gotten me to leave, but it’s just a once in a lifetime opportunity. If I don’t do this now, I don’t know that I ever get that shot. I got some gas left in the tank.”
Clouse says he will report directly to Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris and be responsible for the team’s business operations.
Harris and an investor group purchased the Commanders for $6.05 billion in 2023. Harris is also the owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and NHL’s New Jersey Devils, and is a co-founder of Apollo Global Management (APO) (Yahoo Finance’s parent company).
Clouse has run a master class in reinventing a household name.
When Clouse parachuted into then Campbell Soup’s Camden, N.J., headquarters on Jan. 22, 2019, he came into a historic food company taking fire from all sides.
Public bickering between descendants of Campbell Soup founder John T. Dorrance. An attack by prominent activist investor Dan Loeb of Third Point. Its stock price dropped 9% from Dec. 19, 2017, to Dec. 19, 2018, amid poor execution of two large acquisitions (Bolthouse Farms, Snyder’s-Lance) from a prior CEO and subpar financial results.
Clouse, the former CEO of Pinnacle Foods, wasted no time channeling the leadership skills he learned as a pilot in the United States Army, a decorated career that concluded with him serving as captain.
