- After almost eight years in the position
- Accolades, praise and thanks for Kurzius
- Brendan Foley taking over
- Kurzius will remain as Executive Chairman at McCormick
- Kurzius spoke at length and said 131 words
(exechange) — Hunt Valley, Maryland, June 28, 2023 — Lawrence Kurzius, chief executive of McCormick, leaves his position. As announced by McCormick & Co. in a news release and in a regulatory filing published on Wednesday, June 28, 2023, Lawrence E. Kurzius leaves his post as chief executive officer at the spicemaker, after almost eight years in the role, effective September 1, 2023.
Lawrence Kurzius’s duties as CEO will be taken over by Brendan M. Foley, currently President and Chief Operating Officer at McCormick & Co.
The announcement comes the day before McCormick is set to report its fiscal second quarter earnings.
No reason given
In the announcement, McCormick did not explicitly explain the reason for the move.
Kurzius will remain as Executive Chairman at McCormick
McCormick stated: “Lawrence E. Kurzius will continue to serve as Executive Chairman of the Board.”
“Step down”
McCormick said: “Mr. Foley will replace Lawrence E. Kurzius who will step down from his role as Chief Executive Officer effective September 1, 2023.”
Share price increase since June 2018
The announcement follows an increase in McCormick & Co.’s share price of 86% since June 2018.
In the position of CEO since 2016
Lawrence Kurzius became CEO of the Company in 2016.
Kurzius currently serves as the Chairman (since 2017) and Chief Executive Officer of McCormick (since 2016).
He previously served as President as well (from 2015 until 2022) and in a variety of other roles with the Company, thereby gaining an understanding of the different aspects of the Company’s operations and the food industry.
Prior to assuming his present role, Kurzius was (a) President and Chief Operating Officer (2015 to 2016) of McCormick, (b) President of the Company’s global consumer business (2013 to 2016), (c) Chief Administrative Officer of the Company (2013 to 2015), (d) President of the Company’s international business (2008 to 2013), (e) President of EMEA (2007 to 2008), (f) President of U.S. Consumer Foods (2005 to 2007), (g) Vice President and General Manager of Sales and Marketing for U.S. Consumer Foods (2005), and (h) President of Zatarain’s (2003 to 2005).
Prior to joining the Company upon the acquisition of Zatarain’s by McCormick, Kurzius was the Chief Executive Officer of Zatarain’s where he worked for 12 years.
Kurzius was also a marketing executive with the Quaker Oats Company and Mars Inc.’s Uncle Ben’s Company.
In these various roles, Kurzius developed a broad knowledge of the Company’s markets – both domestic and international, and consumer and flavor solutions – and had senior level responsibility for strategic planning and leadership with respect to these businesses.
Kurzius currently serves on the board of Elanco Animal Health Inc.
131 words by Lawrence Kurzius
In the news release announcing his departure as CEO of McCormick & Co., Lawrence Kurzius received accolades, praise and thanks.
In announcing his departure, Lawrence Kurzius spoke at length and said 131 words.
“Particularly excited to see my successor Brendan Foley leading the business forward”
Lawrence Kurzius stated: “At McCormick, we are the flavor category leader from end-to-end for our customers and consumers, and I am extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished. This required a true team effort; our management team is comprised of the best talent in the industry, and I am particularly excited to see my successor Brendan Foley leading the business forward. With his passion for McCormick and elevation of our commercial growth plans and execution, Brendan has a proven track record of delivering results as a leader. Moreover, he understands the importance of continuing our growth while ensuring we do the right things for people, communities, and the planet. Under Brendan’s leadership, I am confident McCormick will build upon our success, and I look forward to supporting our future growth in my role as Chairman.”
40% of CEOs are forced out or fired
When CEO departures are announced, exechange determines the Push-out Score on a scale of 0 to 10 to assess how likely it is that the chief executive was pushed out or felt pressure to leave the position, with 0 being most likely a voluntary move and 10 being most likely a forced exit. Anything over a 5 indicates that there are valid reasons to believe an executive may have been pushed out.
Of the 318 CEO departures in the Russell 3000 Index evaluated over the past 12 months (June 28, 2022, to June 27, 2023), the average Push-out Score was 6.2, according to exechange data. References to conduct issues, disagreements and irregularities lead to the highest Push-out Scores. When performance issues, time with family or pursuit of other opportunities were cited as departure reasons, the average Push-out Scores were also significantly elevated.
Around 40% of the CEO departure events from the past 12 months received Push-out Scores of 8 or higher.
In other words, in the past 12 months, two in five departing CEOs were forced out or fired.
Push-out Score for Lawrence Kurzius’s move determined
The Push-out Score regarding Lawrence Kurzius’s move is explained point by point in the exechange report.
exechange reached out to McCormick and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 27.2023 ($).