Campbell's CEO Mark Clouse will step down to become president of NFL's Commanders

Ariana Perez-Castells, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Dec 4, 2024

Published in Football

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PHILADELPHIA — The president and CEO of the Campbell’s Co., Mark Clouse, will become president of the NFL’s Washington Commanders.

Clouse, who has led Campbell’s since 2019, will step down on Jan. 31, the Camden, N.J.-based company announced on Tuesday.

“Campbell’s will always hold a special place in my heart,” Clouse said in a statement Tuesday. “While I am stepping away a bit earlier than I anticipated, I feel like I have one more act in my career.”

Mick Beekhuizen, current president of the company’s meals and beverages division, will become Campbell’s president and CEO in February. He joined the company in 2019 and will become the 15th CEO in the company’s 155 years.

“It is a tremendous honor to have been selected by the board to lead this iconic company,” Beekhuizen said in a statement.

Before joining Campbell’s, Beekhuizen served as executive vice president and chief financial officer at Chobani from 2016 to 2019. The company known for its Greek yogurt has local ties to the area, too, having acquired Philadelphia-founded La Colombe in 2023.

Campbell’s has had a “really robust and well designed” plan for his replacement in place for over a year, Clouse said in an interview Wednesday.

“As much as the job with the Washington Commanders is a bit of a lifelong dream of working in the sports world and in the NFL, I don’t think I could have contemplated it if I didn’t feel like we had the company on a great foundation with an incredibly robust succession plan in place,” Clouse said.

The leadership change is just the latest shift for Campbell’s. In September, Clouse announced the company’s intent to change its name from Campbell Soup Co. to the Campbell’s Co., which was approved by shareholders in November.

Although Campbell’s has been associated with the iconic soup business, it also sells brands such as Prego, Goldfish and Pepperidge Farm. Last year, Campbell’s purchased Sovos Brands Inc., the parent company of the Rao’s pasta sauce brand. In September, Clouse noted that Rao’s was on track to become the company’s fourth brand to generate more than $1 billion in annual sales.

Campbell’s brought in $9.6 billion in net sales in the 2024 fiscal year across its meals, beverages, and snacks business.

“When I think about where we are in our journey, I kind of describe it a little bit as having really almost fully set the table,” Clouse said. “This next chapter, I think, will be much more now about fulfilling the full potential and seeing this business deliver at the top of the food industry.”

This isn’t Campbell’s first link to professional football. The company has partnered with former Eagles player Jason Kelce on a special Campbell’s Chunky Chicken Noodle soup.

And while Clouse is leaving for a team other than the Eagles, the Commanders also have local ties. Josh Harris, who has led a private equity career, and is the managing partner of the Sixers, reached a deal to become an owner of the Commanders last year.

The 2023 sale of the team from Dan Snyder and his family to a group led by Harris was a $6.05 billion deal, reportedly the highest price ever paid for a North American professional sports franchise.

“The Washington Commanders role is a once-in-a-lifetime position that blends my passion for business and love of sports,” Clouse said. “A leadership role in professional sports is the only thing that would’ve pulled me away from Campbell’s.”

The Eagles beat the Washington Commanders, 26-18, on Nov. 14. The teams face off again on Dec. 22.

Clouse said he and his wife have enjoyed living in downtown Philadelphia, and they’re sad to leave despite their excitement for Washington, D.C. While he said he “can’t speak to football,” he remains a “diehard” Sixers fan.

“It’s been a city and a community that I’ve grown to love,” he said. “The kind of mindset of Philadelphia fits me really well.”