Billionaire Warren Buffett’s demands to revive packaged food giant Kraft Heinz have resulted in a quiet reshuffling of the board, The Post has learned.
Kraft Heinz Chairman and 3G Capital Co-Founder Alexandre Behring has recently moved from Greenwich, Conn., to Brazil in a move that gives more power to Kraft Heinz Vice Chair — and former Kraft CEO — John Cahill, two sources told The Post.
The move is expected to decrease Behring’s time managing the struggling business — and comes as Buffett, whose Berkshire Hathaway owns a 26.7% stake, has been pushing the company to escape sagging sales blamed in part on drastic cost-cutting measures made at the behest of 3G.
“Alex is a bit in the penalty box,” one of the sources said of Behring, who has privately said he wants to spend more time in Brazil for the sake of his family.
On Monday, the food company behind Velveeta and Oscar Mayer said it hired Miguel Patricio — a former Anheuser-Busch InBev marketing executive — as its new CEO, replacing Bernando Hees, who became chief in 2015.
“Berkshire’s people on the board pressed for [the] change,” one source said of Patricio. Behring “was supportive of Bernardo,” a Kraft Heinz analyst said, requesting confidentiality.
Buffett-backed board members include Tracy Britt Cool, who has a reputation for pushing big changes at Berkshire’s underperforming companies, including as chairwoman of Benjamin Moore.