Kraft Foods Group appointed chairman John Cahill as chief executive to succeed Tony Vernon, who has headed the company since it was spun off from Mondelez International in October 2012.

Kraft's shares rose 3 per cent to $61.38 in early trading. Mr Cahill, who will remain chairman, formerly worked at PepsiCo and served as chief executive of Pepsi Bottling Group.

He joined Kraft in 2012 as executive chairman designate of the company’s North American grocery division and was appointed executive chairman when the company was spun off.

Kraft said Mr Vernon will retire as chief executive on December 27th but will remain a director until the company’s next annual meeting in 2015. He will also stay on as an adviser until March 31st. – (Reuters)