Kevin A. Rule162 Broadway

Libertyville, IL 60048karule@aol.com • 847-997-0673 (c)

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

Executive finance professional with over 20 years of technical and leadership experience in finance and accounting, with extensive expertise in the consumer products industry. An agile, strategic leader that is able to leverage his diverse experiences and abilities to drive results while maximizing the contributions from his team.

CORE COMPETENCIES

Financial Planning Strategic Planning Drive for ResultsP&L Management Investment Decision Analysis usiness AcumenForecasting Accounting and Controls Employee Development

EXPERIENCE & ACHIEVEMENTS

Kraft Foods Group, Inc. Northfield, IL 1998 – present

Director Finance Cheese & Dairy Kraft Brand, Kraft Foods Group (2014 – present)Strategic business partner to the Vice-President Marketing responsible for the $1.8Bn Natural and Sandwich Cheese portfolio. Key responsibilities include total P&L management, scenario planning including modeling of pricing and commodity cost impacts, business and trend analysis of actual performance and commercialization of new product business propositions. Significant cross-functional experience partnering with Marketing, Sales, Supply Chain, R&D and others via Integrated Business Planning. Lead a staff of two direct and one dotted line reports. Executed multiple pricing scenarios while managing record levels of dairy input costs; implemented pricing

action resulting in Net Revenue growth of +6.6% vs. prior year and Operating Income of ~$200MM while mitigating $(135)MM dairy cost headwind

Provided financial leadership for multi-phased $130MM investment to recapitalize process slices manufacturing network as well as a multi-year Natural shredded cheese packaging renovation to move industry standard to a Stand Up Pouch in a Shelf Ready Package

Significant contributions to finance function beyond current role via leadership in enterprise-wide MBA recruiting team, workplace flexibility team, formal mentoring and Cheese & Dairy finance engagement team

Director Manufacturing Finance, Kraft Foods Group (2011 – 2013)Critical financial business partner to the Executive Vice-President Integrated Supply Chain (“ISC”). Key responsibilities include financial planning, forecasting, strategic planning, process streamlining, investment decision analysis and Board of Director presentation and support preparation. Lead a s taff of five direct and three indirect reports. Engaged and lead Business Unit partners and Manufacturing Strategy in conducting Network Assessment to

optimize North America cost structure Lead project to reduce manufacturing plant finance headcount by ~15% delivering $7MM of savings Overall responsibility for managing, tracking and optimizing ~$600MM capital spending budget across

multiple business unit and functional partners Created, developed and implemented Capital Investment Committee providing a more holistic view of

Company spending and ensuring greater efficiency and alignment with strategic business priorities Implemented standardized set of Key Performance Indicators across ISC to enable delivery of record net

productivity in excess of 3.4% COGS

Senior Finance Manager, Kraft Foods North America Sales, Central Area (2009 – 2011)Primary financial business partner to Central Area Sales staff, managing revenue of $2Bn, trade expenses $400MM and selling expenses $25MM. Key responsibilities include financial planning, forecasting, investment analysis, and resource evaluation. Staff of one to two direct reports. Championed implementation of new SAP system and new analytical tools to improve trade efficiencies and

return on investment; relentless focus on efficiencies resulted in Central Area trade return on investment and promotional efficiency ranking first for all of North America Sales

Kevin A. Rule162 Broadway

Libertyville, IL 60048karule@aol.com • 847-997-0673 (c)

Partnered with sales to drive gross revenue over-delivery combined with a $40MM reduction in trade resources for a Net Revenue over-make of 1.7pps above Plan

Right-sized financial staff to balance strategic partner needs with organizational productivity goals (annual savings of $120K)

Senior Finance Manager, Corporate Financial Planning and Analysis (2005 – 2009)Overall responsibility for executing and presenting to Senior Management capital structure, interest expense, Earnings per Share, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow plans for consolidated Kraft Foods Inc. Key responsibilities include financial planning, forecasting, strategic planning, process streamlining and Board of Director presentation and support preparation. Directed and coached staff of four direct reports. Executed multiple scenario analysis for Chief Financial Officer on dividend modeling, share repurchases,

and working capital programs to understand Earnings per Share and Cash Flow implications Implemented functional alignment reviews with Tax, Treasury and Financial Planning and Analysis,

significantly improving communication and forecast accuracy Lead finance representative in charge of analyzing and tracking $3.1Bn Board approved restructuring

program generating annual savings of $1.4Bn Coordinated execution of CEO Organizing for Growth initiative in North America, realigning $220MM and

2,000 individuals across the organization, resulting in increased transparency and productivity Provided education and leadership in engaging cross-functional working capital teams to improve

performance; conducted peer analysis to benchmark performance against competitive set and identify areas of focus, leading to eight day improvement in Cash Conversion Cycle over four year period worth $800MM

Partnered with Finance training staff and five colleagues across the world to develop first ever training course on Cash Flow, including how to compute one and its’ importance to Kraft and external stakeholders

Field Controller, Kraft Fullerton Foods Manufacturing Facility (2003-2005)Financial responsibility for plant that produced 80MM lbs annually with total costs of $110MM. Key responsibilities include financial planning, forecasting, and business analysis. Significant cross-functional experience, partnering with Production, Quality, Materials Management, Human Resources, and others. Coached and developed staff of three direct reports. Identified and implemented several efficiency improvements delivering over $3MM of annual productivity Designed and implemented new Sarbanes-Oxley testing plans to ensure compliance with regulations Developed and championed long-term strategic vision for the finance department Charged with overall responsibility for commercialization of a new $6MM high speed line in addition to

Controller duties.

Finance Manage Recipe Cheese Category ($400MM), Cheese & Dairy Business Unit (2001-2003)Financial Reporting Manager, Cheese & Dairy Business Unit (2000 – 2001)Senior Financial Analyst, Variable Product Cost Forecasting (1999 – 2000)Senior Financial Analyst, Operations Planning & Analysis (1998 – 1999)

Arthur Andersen LLP, Chicago, IL, 1993-1997Experienced Senior AccountantPlanned and conducted audits for public and private companies principally in manufacturing. Supervised three to five staff per engagement. Participated in “carve-out” divestiture and prepared numerous SEC filings Actively participated on two successful proposals to provide external auditing and tax services Selected as one of fifty instructors worldwide to teach new staff school Overall responsibility for Commercial Division Upward Evaluation process

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATION

Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, Evanston, IL 2001Masters of Business Administration

Kevin A. Rule162 Broadway

Libertyville, IL 60048karule@aol.com • 847-997-0673 (c)

Finance, Marketing, Management and Strategy

University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN 1993Bachelor of Business Administration

Certified Public Accountant