Prior to joining ConAgra Foods in 2005, Gary Rodkin was Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo Beverages and Foods North America, where he led a $10 billion organization, including such leading brands as Pepsi®, Gatorade, Quaker Foods, and Tropicana. He joined PepsiCo in 1998 when PepsiCo acquired Tropicana, where he had served as its president since 1995. From 1979 to 1995, Gary held marketing and general management positions of increasing responsibility at General Mills, participating in the successes of many of its leading brands from Cheerios® to Betty Crocker®, with his last three years at the company as president, Yoplait-Colombo.

Gary earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Rutgers College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Al Bolles joined ConAgra Foods in 2006 as executive vice president, Research, Quality & Innovation. In this role, he leads the company's research, quality, and innovation functions and guides the development of new products based on consumer insights and technological best practices.

Prior to joining ConAgra Foods, Al led worldwide research and development for PepsiCo Beverages and Foods. There, he led significant expansion of major brands and directed several major product launches. Mr. Bolles began his career at General Foods, later worked at Gerber Products, and served as senior vice president, Global Technology and Quality, and chief technical officer for Tropicana until it was acquired by PepsiCo.

Al has a Ph.D. and master's degree in food science and a bachelor's degree in microbiology, all from Michigan State University. He holds several patents and has won numerous awards for his contributions to the world of food science.

Joan Chow joined ConAgra Foods as executive vice president and chief marketing officer in 2007.

Prior to ConAgra Foods, Joan was senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Sears, Roebuck & Co., where she led all aspects of the company's marketing efforts. Prior to joining Sears in 1998, she spent seven years at Information Resources, Inc., where she built top-performing client services teams and led the development of a consumer-packaged goods trade promotion planning tool for IRI customers. Joan began her career in 1986 at Johnson & Johnson Products, Inc., where she brought strong results and market-share gains as a leader of several product lines.

Joan earned her MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and her bachelor's degree in linguistics from Cornell University.

Jim Hardy joined ConAgra Foods in 2005. He provides enterprisewide leadership for the company's supply chain from the purchasing of raw materials to the delivery of quality food products to customers. In the manufacturing plants, he is driving best practices and encouraging the use of the best technology to produce quality products.

Prior to joining ConAgra Foods, Jim was vice president, Product Supply, for Clorox. He also has 15 years of experience at Procter & Gamble, serving in roles of increasing responsibility.

Jim has a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from the University of Florida, Gainesville. He also spent four years in the U.S. Navy operating nuclear reactors on submarines.

André Hawaux joined ConAgra Foods as executive vice president and chief financial officer in 2006. Prior to ConAgra Foods, André was responsible for all operational functions as the general manager of a large U.S. division of PepsiAmericas. He also previously served as chief financial officer for Pepsi-Cola North America and Pepsi International's China business unit.

A certified public accountant, André holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Pace University and an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University.

Greg Heckman was named president and chief operating officer, ConAgra Foods Commercial Products, in 2005. He oversees a strong and unique portfolio that includes Lamb Weston specialty potato products, ConAgra Mills, Gilroy Foods, and Spicetec basic and specialty ingredients and custom capabilities, and the ConAgra Trade Group, which sources, merchandises, trades, markets and distributes agricultural and energy commodities.

Prior to this role, Greg held operating and management positions of increasing responsibility with ConAgra Foods, including president and chief operating officer, ConAgra Food Ingredients. He joined the company in 1984.

Greg has a bachelor's degree in agricultural economics from the University of Illinois.

Dean Hollis was named president and chief operating officer, Consumer Foods in 2005. In this role, he oversees all retail products, including such consumer favorites as Healthy Choice, Orville Redenbacher's, Hebrew National, and Hunt's. Dean also is in charge of the company's International business, which markets 40 global brands in 110 countries, including Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, much of Latin America, Japan, China, and the United Kingdom. Dean previously served as executive vice president of ConAgra Foods' Retail Products business.

Before that, Dean was president, Frozen Foods, from 2000 to 2005, and interim president of Grocery Foods in 2005. Since joining ConAgra Foods in 1987, Dean has held several positions in Sales, Trade Marketing, and general management. Before ConAgra Foods, Mr. Hollis held positions at TreeSweet Companies and Georgia-Pacific.

Dean earned his bachelor's degree at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, where he serves on the Board of Directors.

Owen Johnson is executive vice president and chief administrative officer. Since joining ConAgra Foods in 1998, Owen also has led Human Resources and Administration, first as a senior vice president and then as executive vice president, Human Resources and Administration. In his current role, Owen oversees the direction of Human Resources, Real Estate, and corporate administrative functions.

Before joining ConAgra Foods, Owen was vice president, Human Resources, Purchasing, Transportation, Corporate Communications, and Administration; and president, Greenfuels Inc., for Nisource, Inc. He also held senior positions with Lit-America Trading, as senior vice president, Administration, and BankAmerica, as vice president, Bank Mergers and Acquisitions.

Owen has a bachelor's degree in quantitative and labor economics from the University of Illinois.

Doug Knudsen was named to his current role in 2005, providing sales leadership to the entire company. He became president, Retail Sales, in 2001. In his role, Doug oversees the sales of many consumer-favorite brands, including Healthy Choice, Orville Redenbacher's, Chef Boyardee, and Hebrew National.

Prior to becoming president of Retail Sales, Doug was president, Grocery Sales, ConAgra Grocery Products Company, formerly Hunt-Wesson. He began his career with Hunt-Wesson as a sales representative, eventually assuming several senior positions, including vice president and national sales manager, and senior vice president of Sales. ConAgra Foods acquired Hunt-Wesson with Beatrice Foods in 1990.

Doug serves on the Sales Vanguard Committee of the Grocery Manufacturers Association and is an advisory board member of the Computer Science Corporation. He has a bachelor's degree from Illinois State University.

Pete Perez joined ConAgra Foods as senior vice president of Human Resources in 2003. In this role, he leads the people-focused initiatives supporting the company's ongoing business transformation. Under his leadership, ConAgra Foods has adopted a one-company approach to performance and incentives, made headway toward developing a more diverse and inclusive culture and built a foundation for more effectively delivering on its core operating principles of simplicity, accountability and collaboration. Pete directs all Human Resources functions, including compensation, benefits, recruiting, learning and development, and workforce effectiveness.

Prior to joining ConAgra Foods, Pete was senior vice president, Human Resources, for W.W. Grainger. He also held senior Human Resources positions with Alliant Foodservice and Pepsi Cola General Bottlers.

Pete has a bachelor's degree from Eastern Illinois University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School.

Prior to joining ConAgra Foods, King was in a leadership role at Kellogg, where he focused on business transformation across the company. He was responsible for operations and technology and had direct responsibility for Manufacturing, Logistics, Engineering, Procurement, Research and Development and Information Technology. He also implemented SAP and sponsored reengineering in supply chain, financial forecasting and order management processes.

King has an MSE degree from Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany.

Rob Sharpe joined ConAgra Foods as executive vice president, Legal and External Affairs, in 2005. In this role, he oversees the company's legal affairs and all communication activities, including public relations, government affairs, and investor relations.

Prior to coming to ConAgra Foods, Rob was a partner with the Brunswick Group. He also served as senior vice president, public affairs; secretary and general counsel for PepsiCo; and senior vice president and general counsel at RJR Nabisco.

Rob serves on the board of Ameriprise Financial. He has bachelor's degrees from DePauw University and Purdue University and a law degree from Wake Forest University.