Abby Pledger’s Post

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Strategy and Transformation | Integration Leadership

22 months ago we learned Clif had been acquired by Mondelez. After taking a minute to figure out who Mondelez was, and the powerhouse of brands they steward, we set out on an ambitious integration journey. It has been the most intensive work of my career, requiring the application of everything I know from deep end to end enterprise knowledge, to understanding complex processes, to working in a multinational and matrixed organization, to figuring out how to attain aggressive synergies, a massive systems cut over, a full commercial integration, thoughtful change management and comms, and a whole lot more. Today we formally finished integrating our people, processes and systems and there is a massive relief and amount of pride to be felt. Integrating a company like Clif is not your typical M&A. Clif has deep purpose driven roots, a vibrant employee-led culture, and an ethos of taking a different path. This was never a company designed to sell. It made the “how” we approached our work all the more critical. It must always be centered on the people. The people and team you surround yourself with, the way you engage both organizations with candor and respect, the building of bridges to ease the transition. M&A is never easy or smooth but at each turn we have worked tirelessly to make the right call. Hopefully we got more right than wrong. Mondelez has a portfolio of so many brands over 100 years old. I cant wait to see CLIF’s impact over the next 50 years. Just getting started. Congrats to all my teammates who made this happen! Proud to work side by side with you.

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Chad D.

Agent of Change | Innovator | Challenger | Catalyst | Coach | Confidante | Consultant | C-Suite/SVP/President Experience

1mo

Abby Pledger Be sure to heed the lessons of the failed acquisition by Kraft Heinz of Balance Bar to avoid a similar fate. The track record of big Food and Bev CPG acquiring “purpose/mission/culture/image driven brands” only to tear them apart over short term P&L requirements is very poor — just ask Bolthouse Farms or Back to Nature or Stacy’s…etc. etc. Wish you luck Clifbar to survive the corporate bloodletting…it won’t be easy! 🙏

Michael O'Reilly, PCC

Executive Development & Leadership Coach

1mo

It's wonderful to read about the positive experiences you've had in the integration of Clif with Mondelez. During integrations its easy to lose sight of the hearts and minds components. Kudos to all those involved for maintaining a healthy ethos and culture in this process. I also invite you to be kind to yourself as you continue on this journey and appreciate there will be instances where things didn't go perfectly - as with many things in life its about progress not perfection.

What an inspiring journey! It's incredible to see the dedication and teamwork that went into integrating Clif with Mondelez. This comment beautifully captures the challenges and triumphs of merging two distinct cultures while staying true to core values. Kudos to the entire team for their hard work and commitment to a people-first approach! 🌟 #IntegrationSuccess #Teamwork #InspiringJourney

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Carl Mendelson

Business Owner at CNE Services LLC, dba Office Pride

1mo

Well, congrats on the hard work paying off. If you had looked deeper into Mondelez, you would have found how jingoistic the European corporate culture is once the Kraft brand was split. In the next few years, look to have manufacturing operations shipped to Mexico and of China. I speak from experience as this is what they did to the Nabisco brand.  To date, I don't believe a single Oreo, Cheeze-it, or Belvita product is made in America any more. Good luck!

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Aleksey Podobaev

On-Site Support Lead Projects Russia

1w

Let me support you, Abby, in this hard road as I passed the same way 2 years ago with Eastern-European croissant company Chipita!

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Karen Mooney

SVP HR North America at Mondelēz International

1mo

Thank you Abby for your amazing leadership and for going on the journey with us!

🍪 Francesca Hahn

Vice President, Digital Commerce at Mondelēz, Connecting people to the future of snacking

1mo

I feel fortunate to have worked with you Abby!

Trevor Ousey

Senior Technical Officer @ RJE Global Pty Ltd | Industrial Automation

1mo

Not sure Mondelez is a good thing, looking at how things transpired since the separating with Kraft Foods and after the acquisition of Cadbury, their manufacturing appears only to be driven on the major brand products.

Congratulations! I have been grateful to be a small part of this journey to continue in service of our amazing CLIF people! Can’t wait to see what the future brings. ❤️

Meghna Tyagi

Strategy & Transformation | Mondelez | Ex - J&J, Roche, Accenture | Career Coach | Diversity & Inclusion Advocate

1mo

Congratulations Abby. Proud to have been on this massive journey with you ❤️

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