Longtime Mondelez CEO Irene Rosenfeld to retire in November

Irene Rosenfeld, longtime CEO of Mondelez International and one of the most powerful female executives in the country, plans to retire in November, the company announced Wednesday.

The $26 billion maker of Oreo cookies, Trident gum and hundreds of other snack food staples said Dirk Van de Put, current president and CEO of McCain Foods, will succeed her.

“I am very proud of what our 90,000 colleagues at Mondelēz International have accomplished,” Rosenfeld said in a statement. “Throughout my tenure as CEO, the world and our industry have undergone a period of unprecedented change. During that time, we anticipated emerging challenges, adapted accordingly and created significant value for our shareholders.

“The outlook is bright for this great company – one of the few that has consistently delivered on both the top and bottom lines, while making critical investments for future growth.”

Rosenfeld, who oversaw the breakup of Kraft Foods into two separate companies creating a standalone snack food giant in Mondelez, will remain chairman of the company through March 2018 when Van de Put will become chairman.

The leadership change was announced as Mondelez reported a surprisingly strong second quarter thanks to lower costs and improving conditions in Europe and some emerging markets.

For the three months ended June 30, the Deerfield company earned $498 million, or 32 cents per share. A year ago the company earned $464 million, or 29 cents per share.

Earnings, adjusted for restructuring costs and one-time costs, were 48 cents per share. That’s better than the 46 cents per shat that analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research expected.

Revenue declined to $5.99 billion from $6.03 billion, but still topped the $5.95 billion that analysts polled by Zacks predicted. The company said that its revenue performance was hampered by a malware incident in June that impacted shipments that month.

Mondelez anticipates double-digit full-year adjusted earnings growth on a constant currency basis. The company also said that it is raising its quarterly dividend by 16 percent.

Contributing: Associated Press