BATTLE CREEK, MICH. — In what is part of a significant management reorganization at The Kellogg Co., Paul T. Norman has been promoted to the newly created position of chief growth officer at Kellogg Co. At the same time, Brad J. Davidson, president of Kellogg North America, is retiring. The changes will become effective Oct. 1.

Additionally, Chris Hood has been promoted to succeed Mr. Norman as president of Kellogg Europe.

Mr. Davidson’s retirement follows a career at the company dating back to the 1980s.

“Brad’s deep business knowledge, strong commercial leadership and operational expertise benefited Kellogg greatly throughout his career with the company,” said John A. Bryant, president and chief executive officer, Kellogg Co. “We congratulate Brad and his family and thank him for his years of service to our great company.”

Mr. Norman has been a senior vice-president of Kellogg Co. since 2005 and president, Kellogg International, since August 2008.

With the changes, the roles of president, Kellogg North America (the position held by Mr. Davidson), and president, Kellogg International (the position held by Mr. Norman), will be eliminated, Kellogg said. Business units falling under Kellogg North America — U.S. Morning Foods, U.S. Snacks, U.S. Frozen Foods, U.S. Specialty Channels and Canada — will report directly to Mr. Bryant. The company said the revised reporting chain “reflects the size and importance of these businesses.”

Mr. Bryant said the new structure will “position the company well for future growth.”

“The moves we announced today — including creating a longer-term strategy role with the chief growth officer position and having the three international regions and the North American business units report directly into me — reflect the need to drive scalable ideas through a flatter, more nimble and execution-oriented global organization,” he said.

Mr. Norman came to Kellogg in 1987, joining the company’s U.K. sales group. He was promoted to a number of marketing roles in France and Canada in the years 1989 to 1996 and became director of marketing, Kellogg de Mexico, in 1997. He was named vice-president of marketing, Kellogg USA in 1999 and president of Kellogg Canada in 2000. In 2002, Mr. Norman returned to Europe as managing director, United Kingdom/Republic of Ireland, and was promoted in 2004 to vice-president, Kellogg Co., and president of U.S. Morning Foods.

In addition to president of Kellogg International, Mr. Norman has been serving as president, Kellogg Europe, on an interim basis.

Mr. Norman received a bachelor’s degree with honors in French from Portsmouth Polytechnic (now known as the University of Portsmouth) in England.

Succeeding Mr. Norman as president of Kellogg Europe will be Mr. Hood, who has been vice-president of the European Snacks business unit of Kellogg since October 2012. Mr. Hood came to Kellogg at that time from Proctor & Gamble when Kellogg acquired the Pringles brand from P.&G. He held a variety of roles, including marketing director North American Snacks and vice-president North American Snacks before becoming vice-president for Snacks in Europe.

Mr. Hood is a graduate of Columbia University, holding a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in business administration from Columbia Business School. He is a native of St. Paul, Minn.
Kellogg said Mr. Hood has “a proven track record of building successful brands and retail partnerships, as well as driving product and supply chain innovation in the European, Asian and North American consumer product markets.”