Carla Vernón ’92

As president of the General Mills Natural & Organic Operating Unit, Carla leads both financial, strategic and environmental stewardship strategy for the largest portfolio of natural and organic brands in General Mills. The portfolio includes Annie’s, Cascadian Farm, Muir Glen, EPIC and Immaculate Baking. As a member of the North American Leadership team, Vernón also provides long-term vision and strategic leadership to drive double-digit growth and environmental sustainability for the entire $1B General Mills portfolio of Natural and Organic foods. Prior to this role, Vernón led the business strategy for a $1.5 Billion portfolio of snack brands including Nature Valley and Larabar. While in Snacks, she continued her track record of business turnarounds and growth acceleration by driving unprecedented results on Larabar, quadrupling growth from +16% to +70% in six months. She also restored growth to the $1 Billion Nature Valley brand (the world’s top selling granola bar brand) resulting in the highest level of unit sales in the brand’s history.  Vernón’s General Mills career has also included leadership on the Yogurt and Cereal Businesses, as well a role on the Corporate Strategy and Mergers and Acquisition team. Outside of General Mills, Vernón recently served on the national board of directors for the Make-a-Wish Foundation and the Advisory Board for the Wisconsin School of Business’s Center for Brand and Product Management. Vernón is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute, a member of the Alumni Society (for Latino senior leaders). Prior to joining General Mills, she worked for U.S. Senator Carol Moseley-Braun and The Nature Conservancy. Vernón earned an MBA from the University of Texas, Austin (as a Consortium Fellow).