WASHINGTON, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush has chosen as his new Commerce Secretary someone whose life personifies the American dream, former Cuban refugee and now cereal giant Kellogg's chairman and chief executive officer, Carlos Gutierrez. The White House announced Gutierrez' nomination Monday.
If confirmed by the Senate, Gutierrez will replace outgoing Secretary Donald Evans. Battle Creek, Mich.-based Kellogg Company is the world's largest producer of cereal, with 2003 sales of nearly $9 billion.
Born in Havana, Cuba, the 51-year-old Gutierrez and his family were trapped in Miami, Fla. where they had been vacationing when Fidel Castro launched his Cuban Revolution in 1960. Their pineapple export business confiscated, the family had to start from scratch.
"Carlos's family came to America from Cuba when he was a boy. He learned English from a bellhop in a Miami hotel, and later became an American citizen." said Bush, announcing his new Commerce head. "Carlos took his first job for Kellogg as a truck driver, delivering Frosted Flakes to local stores. Ten years after he started, he was running the Mexican business. And 15 years after that, he was running the entire company. At every stage of this remarkable story, Carlos motivated others with his energy and optimism and impressed others with his decency."
Gutierrez is part of the changing of Bush's economic guard who will be tasked with pushing the president's ambitious agenda of reforming Social Security to include private investment accounts and to simplify the tax code.
"Thank you, Mr. President. I'm, needless to say, humbled, I'm honored, I'm very grateful to be here," said Gutierrez at the White House on Monday. "And should the United States Senate confirm me, I look forward to working with you on your team, helping you achieve the plans that you've laid out, the bold plans for our economy."
Drawing on the work ethic learned from his father, Gutierrez has enjoyed a string of promotions at Kellogg since joining the company's Mexico division in 1975. Known as a charismatic and effective leader, he has made what some considered radical moves along the way, including buying snacks company Keebler Foods Co. in 2001.
Gutierrez, who currently lives in Battle Creek with his wife Edilia and three children, has been chief executive officer since April 1999 and chairman of the board of Kellogg Company since April 2000.
After studying business administration at the Monterrey Institute of Technology in Mexico, Gutierrez started at Kellogg de Mexico in Mexico City as a sales representative in 1975, and then was promoted to supervisor of Latin American marketing services and transferred to Kellogg's Battle Creek corporate headquarters in 1982. The following years saw him quickly climb the corporate ladder, holding several senior management positions in Latin America, Canada, the United States and Asia Pacific.
Gutierrez' biography on Kellogg's Web site describes how he was then promoted to international marketing services manager and, in 1984, promoted to general manager of Kellogg de Mexico. In January 1989, he was appointed president and chief executive officer of Kellogg Canada Inc.
He returned to Battle Creek in January 1990 as corporate vice president, product development. He was promoted to vice president, Kellogg Company and executive vice president, sales and marketing, Kellogg USA in July 1990 and to executive vice president, Kellogg USA and general manager, Kellogg USA Cereal Division in 1993. In 1994, Gutierrez was promoted to executive vice president of Kellogg Company and president, Kellogg Asia-Pacific. In 1996, he was named executive vice president, business development. In June 1998, he was appointed president and chief operating officer. In January 1999, he was elected to the company's Board of Directors and, in April 1999, he was appointed president and chief executive officer.
Gutierrez is also co-trustee of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation Trust, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Colgate-Palmolive Company and Grocery Manufacturers of America.
Gordon Gund, chairman of the nominating and governance committee of Kellogg Company's Board of Directors, said Kellogg's board and its 25,000 employees around the world were "proud and honored that President Bush has extended an invitation to Carlos to join his Administration. He has led the company through a critical period of change that resulted in several years of exceptional results. The nation will be fortunate to have him at the helm of the Commerce Department."
James M. Jenness, 58, will succeed Gutierrez as Kellogg's chief executive officer and chairman.
Under Gutierrez, who is credited with pulling Kellogg out of a corporate slump, Kellogg's earnings per share for 2004 so far are up 16 percent over last year, and reported net earnings are up 18 percent to $704.2 million, or $1.69 per share, compared to $599.1 million or $1.46 per share last year.
For third-quarter 2004, reported net earnings for the quarter increased by 7 percent to $247 million, up from $231.3 million for this same period last year. Diluted earnings per share were up 5 percent or $0.59, compared to $0.56 in third-quarter 2003.
Kellogg shares were down $1.15 or 2.56 percent to $43.86 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
