Robert Long to
retire after 45 distinguished years in CPG
DALLAS, July 16,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) today
announced that Craig Slavtcheff has
been appointed Chief Research and Development Officer, effective
July 29. Slavtcheff will succeed
Robert Long, who is retiring from
the company after 45 years in the CPG industry, including the last
three years at Kimberly-Clark.
Slavtcheff is a seasoned executive with more than 30 years of
R&D experience in the CPG industry. He most recently served as
Executive Vice President, Chief R&D and Innovation Officer of
Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB), where he led the R&D
function, including strategy, product development, and corporate
science and technology. Since joining Campbell in 2012, he transformed the R&D
and Innovation organization, introduced new methodologies – from
agile design to AI and machine learning – and gathered insights to
enhance relevance and time to market for innovation pipelines.
Prior to that, he held senior roles at The Sun Products Corporation
and Unilever.
Slavtcheff has been named as an inventor on more than 70 U.S.
and global patents, covering a wide range of product categories
that generated growth platforms for leading bands.
"Craig brings an incredible combination of science-backed
expertise and tech-forward innovation to Kimberly-Clark, and we are
delighted to welcome him to the team," said Chairman and CEO
Mike Hsu. "Throughout his career,
Craig has established a track record of driving innovation with
business impact and creating superior products through deep
consumer insights. We will benefit from his wealth of experience as
we continue to leverage science as our competitive advantage and
increase our focus and investment in category-shaping technology to
make consumers' daily lives better."
Hsu continued, "I want to thank Robert for his tremendous
contributions to Kimberly-Clark since joining our team in 2021. He
played a key role in helping to establish innovation as a
value-driver for our business, building a long-term pipeline of
disruptive innovations rooted in advantaged technology. His
leadership has been instrumental in establishing our strong
foundation in material invention and product engineering, which
will support our growth for years to come."
"Kimberly-Clark has an impressive innovation track record,
having played a critical role in inventing many of the categories
it operates in today," said Slavtcheff. "With innovation as a
pillar of the company's strategy, it's an exciting time to join
Mike and the rest of the talented executive team to build on the
company's momentum of accelerating pioneering innovation for
Kimberly-Clark's next chapter of growth."
Slavtcheff will lead an R&D team of scientists focusing on
proprietary, right to win spaces that build differentiated consumer
preference and durable brand equity. This will enable
Kimberly-Clark to further elevate and expand its categories by
providing invaluable benefits to its consumers: greater
absorbency, more comfort, to better skin health and sustainable
solutions.
"It has been a privilege to be a part of a company with such a
strong history of category-defining innovation," said Long. "I'm
grateful to have had the strong partnership of our executive
leadership team and organizations across the enterprise to elevate
innovation in our efforts to better serve consumers and customers.
I'm confident Craig's leadership will take innovation to the next
level, and I look forward to more great things ahead for
Kimberly-Clark."
About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) and its trusted brands are an
indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries.
Fueled by ingenuity, creativity, and an understanding of people's
most essential needs, we create products that help individuals
experience more of what's important to them. Our portfolio of
brands, including Huggies, Kleenex, Scott, Kotex, Cottonelle,
Poise, Depend, Andrex, Pull-Ups, GoodNites, Intimus, Plenitud,
Sweety, Softex, Viva and WypAll, hold No. 1 or No. 2 share
positions in approximately 70 countries. We use sustainable
practices that support a healthy planet, build strong communities,
and ensure our business thrives for decades to come. We are proud
to be recognized as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies(R) by
Ethisphere for the sixth year in a row and one of Fortune's Most
Innovative Companies in America in 2024. To keep up with the latest
news and to learn more about the company's 150-year history of
innovation, visit the Kimberly-Clark website.
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SOURCE Kimberly-Clark Corporation