Kofi A. Bruce
Summary
Kofi A. Bruce is Chief Financial Officer of General Mills, a role he has held since February 2020 after more than a decade in the company’s finance organization. ([generalmills.com](https://www.generalmills.com/about/leadership/executive-team-bruce?utm_source=openai))
Biography
Bruce joined General Mills in 2009 as vice president and treasurer after holding senior management positions at Ecolab and Ford Motor Company. At General Mills, he later served as vice president of finance for Yoplait, vice president of finance for Convenience Stores & Foodservice, vice president and controller, and vice president of financial operations before becoming CFO. ([generalmills.com](https://www.generalmills.com/about/leadership/executive-team-bruce?utm_source=openai)) He earned a bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and an MBA from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. Bruce also serves as audit committee chair on the board of Electronic Arts and as a director of Partners in Food Solutions. ([generalmills.com](https://www.generalmills.com/about/leadership/executive-team-bruce?utm_source=openai))
Notable achievements
- Provided finance leadership through General Mills’ portfolio restructuring, including the approximately $1 billion acquisition of Whitebridge Pet Brands’ North American business and the sale of the North American yogurt businesses. ([investors.generalmills.com](https://investors.generalmills.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2024/General-Mills-Reports-Fiscal-2025-Second-Quarter-Results-and-Updates-Full-Year-Outlook/default.aspx?utm_source=openai))
- Helped oversee capital-allocation planning that balanced internal investment, dividends, share repurchases, acquisitions, and debt management. ([thetranscript.net](https://thetranscript.net/transcript/6384/general-mills-q4-2024-earnings-call-transcript?utm_source=openai))
- Supported General Mills’ sustainability-linked financing initiatives; the company identified its 2021 revolving credit facility as the first of its kind among U.S. consumer packaged-goods companies. ([investors.generalmills.com](https://investors.generalmills.com/files/doc_downloads/global_responsibility_report/2022/General_Mills-Global_Responsibility_2022.pdf?utm_source=openai))
- Maintained a long-term finance career at General Mills by progressing through treasury, business-unit finance, controllership, financial-operations, and CFO roles. ([generalmills.com](https://www.generalmills.com/about/leadership/executive-team-bruce?utm_source=openai))
Problem areas / controversies
- During Bruce’s tenure as CFO, General Mills experienced declining sales and earnings, including a 5% sales decline and a 16% constant-currency decline in adjusted operating profit in fiscal 2026. ([investors.generalmills.com](https://investors.generalmills.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2026/General-Mills-Reports-Fiscal-2026-Fourth-quarter-Adjusted-Results-in-Line-with-Company-Expectations/default.aspx?utm_source=openai))
- The Whitebridge acquisition and yogurt divestitures created integration, transaction-cost, and comparability challenges across reported results. ([investors.generalmills.com](https://investors.generalmills.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2025/General-Mills-Reports-Fiscal-2026-First-quarter-Results-and-Reaffirms-Full-year-Outlook/default.aspx?utm_source=openai))
- General Mills reported fiscal 2026 net interest expense of $539 million and said higher net interest expense partly reduced adjusted earnings, reflecting the financial cost of operating with debt. ([investors.generalmills.com](https://investors.generalmills.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2026/General-Mills-Reports-Fiscal-2026-Fourth-quarter-Adjusted-Results-in-Line-with-Company-Expectations/default.aspx?utm_source=openai))
- Bruce’s finance function has had to manage criticism and execution risk around pricing, product sizes, and value-seeking consumers as shoppers became more price-sensitive. ([bloomberg.com](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-07-11/shrinkflation-ai-and-1-a-day-dog-food-the-view-from-the-cfo-s-office?utm_source=openai))