internal
Mark Smucker
Chief Executive Officer, President and Chair
Executive
9 yr
8 reports
The J. M. Smucker Company ·SJM
CEO absorbs presidency after abrupt COO departure
Food, Beverages & Tobacco · Fortune #466 · Hybrid structure · 9K employees · Orrville, Ohio
View as of:
5
CEO span
↓ tighter than peers (avg 7)
2.1
Avg span
tight
3
Max depth
3 levels
4.4 yr
Avg tenure
stable vs FY2024
80%
Internal hires
↑ above industry avg
Consolidated financials FY2025 · period end 2025-04-30 · 10-K
Operating income
$-673900000
Net income
$-1230800000
Total assets
$17.6B
Shares out
107M
Sourced from The J. M. Smucker Company DEF 14A · filed 2025-06-27 ↗ View on SEC
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The J. M. Smucker Company organizational chart
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CEO absorbs the presidency following the 2026 COO exit, leaving Smucker without a COO. This page maps the resulting executive structure, key leaders, recent changes, and how Smucker’s lean enterprise model compares with packaged-food peers.
What to model
Use the chart to test org decisions, not just view reporting lines
Start with the public baseline, then use the scenario views and source-backed changes to ask what happens when leadership, span, or team ownership shifts.
Latest signal John Brase departed as President and Chief Operating Officer
Departed effective February 9, 2026; separation agreement effective February 26, 2026.
Source · See change logScenario views in the chart
- Reintroduce Chief Operating Officer Adds a COO to reduce the CEO’s operational span and rebalance enterprise oversight.
- Move Sales under Product Supply Would align sales execution more tightly with category supply leadership.
Atlas work this supports
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The people
Who's running this
6 executives identified as Named Executive Officers in the most recent SEC proxy. Bar length scales with tenure.
internal
Robert Ferguson
Chief Product Supply Officer | EVP, Coffee, Pet, and Away From Home
Operations
0 yr
0 reports
internal
Tucker Marshall
Chief Financial Officer | EVP, Frozen Handheld and Spreads and Sweet Baked Snacks
Finance
4 yr
2 reports
Jeannette L. Knudsen
Chief Legal Officer and Secretary
Legal
6 yr
0 reports
internal
Jill Penrose
Chief People and Administrative Officer | Chief of Staff
Human Resources
3 yr
1 reports
internal
Robert Crane
Senior Vice President, Head of Sales and International
Sales
5 yr
0 reports
The pay
Executive compensation
From the most recent DEF 14A Summary Compensation Table. 1 named executive officers disclosed. Bar length scales with total compensation.
Mark Smucker $11.0M
- Base salary
- $1.19M
- Bonus
- $24K
- Stock awards
- $6.55M
- Option awards
- $1.30M
- Non-equity incentive
- $1.55M
- Pension change
- $1.23M
- Other
- $426K
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
- Source
- SEC DEF 14A ↗
The businesses
How The J. M. Smucker Company divides the work
3 divisions report into the group CEO. Tile size scales with estimated headcount.
Finance
400 employees
Chief Financial Officer (Tucker Marshall)
Oversees financial strategy, reporting, treasury, tax, and investor relations.
Product Supply & Operations
4K employees
Chief Product Supply Officer (Robert Ferguson)
Manages manufacturing, procurement, and supply chain across categories.
People & Administration
300 employees
Chief People and Administrative Officer (Jill Penrose)
Leads talent, culture, HR operations, and executive coordination.
The thesis
Why this org is unusual
The most distinctive feature of Smucker’s current structure is the elimination of the COO role, with the CEO directly absorbing the presidency after John Brase’s departure.
This concentrates operational and strategic authority at the top, increasing the CEO’s span of control. The executive team now reflects a hybrid enterprise model where business-unit accountability is embedded in functional leaders such as the CFO and Chief Product Supply Officer.
This structure emphasizes continuity and internal promotion, particularly across finance, people, and operations. However, the absence of a standalone COO places greater coordination demands on EVP-level leaders managing complex portfolios like Coffee, Pet, and Away From Home.
- COO role eliminated in 2026
- CEO also serves as President
The comparison
How The J. M. Smucker Company stacks up
Compared with peers like General Mills and Kellogg, Smucker operates with a leaner C-suite and without a COO. Many competitors maintain clearer separation between enterprise functions and category P&L leadership. Smucker’s model is closer to Hershey’s, where the CEO maintains tighter operational oversight. The …
C-suite size
Reporting depth
The J. M. Smucker Company
3 levels
5 levels
Kellogg
5 levels
4 levels
5 levels
Avg C-suite tenure
Has COO / Has CAIO
The J. M. Smucker Company — no COO — no CAIO
Kellogg ✓ COO — no CAIO
Current signals
What changed recently
The February 2026 departure of COO John Brase led to the CEO absorbing the presidency and a leaner top structure.
- departedJohn Brase President and Chief Operating Officer
Departed effective February 9, 2026; separation agreement effective February 26, 2026.
Source - promotedMark Smucker Chief Executive Officer, President and Chair
Assumed President role in addition to CEO and Chair on February 9, 2026.
Source - promotedRobert Ferguson Chief Product Supply Officer
Elected executive officer and promoted effective February 9, 2026.
Source
Leadership Timeline
Year-over-year executive structure based on SEC proxy and annual filings.
FY2025
DEF 14A filed 2025-06-27
- CEO
- Mark Smucker
- CEO span
- 4
- C-suite
- 5
- Avg tenure
- 4.8 yr
Structure included a President and COO reporting to the CEO.
Named executive officers (5)
- Mark Smucker - CEO and Chair since 2016
- Tucker Marshall - CFO since 2021
- John Brase - President and COO since 2020
- Jeannette Knudsen - Chief Legal Officer since 2019
- Jill Penrose - Chief People Officer since 2022
FY2024
DEF 14A filed 2024-06-28
- CEO
- Mark Smucker
- CEO span
- 4
- C-suite
- 5
- Avg tenure
- 4.3 yr
Stable C-suite with COO role intact.
FY2023
DEF 14A filed 2023-06-30
- CEO
- Mark Smucker
- CEO span
- 4
- C-suite
- 5
- Avg tenure
- 3.9 yr
Early tenure period for several current executives.
Year-over-year changes
Leadership remained stable through fiscal 2025 with no major departures.
- CEO span: 4 → 4
- C-suite size: 5 → 5
- Avg tenure: 4.3 → 4.8 yr
- reorg John Brase - President and COO (DEF 14A, Jun 2025)
The COO’s exit eliminated the role and expanded the CEO’s direct span.
- CEO span: 4 → 5
- C-suite size: 5 → 5
- Avg tenure: 4.8 → 4.4 yr
- departed John Brase - President and COO (was President and COO) (8-K, Feb 2026)
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the CEO of The J. M. Smucker Company?
Mark Smucker has served as CEO since 2016 and is also President and Chair as of February 2026.
What type of organizational structure does The J. M. Smucker Company use?
Smucker uses a hybrid enterprise structure combining functional leadership with category responsibility.
How many direct reports does The J. M. Smucker Company’s CEO have?
The CEO currently has five direct reports following the COO’s departure.
How has The J. M. Smucker Company’s leadership changed recently?
In February 2026, COO John Brase departed and the CEO assumed the presidency, eliminating the COO role.
Does The J. M. Smucker Company have a COO?
No. The COO role was eliminated in February 2026 after John Brase’s departure.
Sources
- 8-K Filing, Feb 2026
- SEC EDGAR: The J. M. Smucker Company DEF 14A Proxy Statement
- SEC EDGAR: The J. M. Smucker Company 10-K Annual Report
Reference
Cite this page
If you reference this page in research, analysis, or news writing, use one of the formats below. Citation includes the SEC filing source where applicable.
APA 7th
Creately. (2026). The J. M. Smucker Company organizational structure. Creately. Retrieved , from https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/jm-smucker/MLA 9th
"The J. M. Smucker Company Organizational Structure." Creately, April 1, 2026, https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/jm-smucker/. Accessed .Chicago 17
Creately. "The J. M. Smucker Company Organizational Structure." Last modified April 1, 2026. https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/jm-smucker/.Original SEC source View on SEC ↗
The J. M. Smucker Company. DEF 14A. Filed 2025-06-27. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/91419/000119312525149673/d876403ddef14a.htmPermanent URL: https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/jm-smucker/ · last updated 2026-04-01