Kraft Heinz Appoints Former Unilever Executive as New CFO

Kraft Heinz has appointed Lucy Hovey as its newest CFO to lead the firm’s UK and Ireland business.

Lucy succeeds former Kraft Heinz CFO Darren Vries, who is stepping down after more than eight years with the company.

Lucy brings more than 20 years of leadership and financial experience at companies throughout the consumer goods industry.

She joins Kraft Heinz after 13 years at Unilever, where she held several senior finance and leadership positions.

Most recently, she served as Unilever’s CFO for the company’s UK and Ireland personal care business as well as its finance lead for deodorants and skin cleansing across Europe.

Additionally, she gained leadership experience from positions across Unilever’s global and local organisations, including brands like Dove, Lynx and REN Clean Skincare. She is also credited with driving a significant business turnaround, helping restore the firm’s growth and profitability.

A track record of delivering sustainable growth 

Lucy began her career at KPMG, advising consumer goods and retail businesses, such as Tesco, Diageo and Mars.

In her new CFO role, she will lead Kraft Heinz’s UK and Ireland finance team, establishing financial strategies and multi-year plans, and partnering with the wider leadership team to drive profitable, sustainable growth across the business.

Discussing her appointment, Marta Pilczuck, Managing Director of Kraft Heinz UK and Ireland, says: “Lucy is a highly accomplished finance leader with a strong track record of partnering closely with commercial teams to deliver profitable, sustainable growth.”

She adds: “Her breadth of experience across category and business unit leadership, combined with her collaborative, people-first approach, will be invaluable as we continue to build momentum in the UK and Ireland. 

“I’m delighted to welcome Lucy to Kraft Heinz, and I’d like to thank Darren for his leadership and contribution to the business as we begin this transition.”

Discussing her new role, Lucy says: “I’m incredibly excited to join Kraft Heinz and be part of a business with such iconic brands and strong momentum, and to work with a team that’s clearly ambitious, energetic and focused on what comes next.

“I’m looking forward to learning quickly, supporting the continued success of the UK&I business and bringing a fresh perspective along the way.”

A US$700m investment strategy

Currently, Kraft Heinz’s food and beverage portfolio spans more than 50 categories globally, and keeping its 200 brands running in a shifting market can prove challenging.

Underinvestment across the enterprise has led some of its brands, such as Oscar Mayer, to lose market share in recent years, prompting the company to increase investments throughout 2026. 

The company has invested a total of US$700m in 2026 across marketing, sales, R&D, productivity and pricing.

Kraft Heinz CEO Steve Cahillane says the investment plan was done to boost lagging brands and maintain growth momentum.

“First, the brands have been underinvested,” Steve says. “That’s demonstrably true. It’s measurably true. We hadn’t invested what we needed to invest to keep the brands alive, relevant and contemporary.”

Kraft Heinz’s key partners:

Taco Bell: Kraft Heinz partners with Taco Bell to manufacture and distribute its retail food line, expanding home kits into grocery stores.
CEO: Sean Tresvant | Headquarters: Irvine, California, US

Microsoft: Microsoft collaborates with Kraft Heinz to optimize its global supply chain, leveraging Azure cloud analytics and hybrid enterprise artificial intelligence.
CEO: Satya Nadella | Headquarters: Redmond, Washington, US

Opentrons: Kraft Heinz partnered with Opentrons to integrate automated lab robotics, accelerating R&D workflows for food formulation and quality testing.
CEO: Jonathan Brennan-Badal | Headquarters: Long Island City, New York, US