Irishman James Kehoe has been named chief financial officer of the $18 billion global food group Kraft, reporting directly to chairman and CEO John T. Cahill. Mr Kehoe will lead all of Kraft's finance operations.

A graduate of University College Galway and University College Dublin, Mr Kehoe has spent more than two decades working with the Kraft Foods organisation, joining the company in 1988. He began his career at Kraft Foods Ireland and has held senior regional finance roles across Western Europe, central and eastern Europe and North America. His most recent position at the company was senior vice president, Corporate Finance, which he held from 2012-2013.

Mr Kehoe rejoins the company from Gildan Activewear, asupplier of branded basic family apparel in Canada, where he most recently served as executive vice president and chief financial and administrative officer. Prior to that, he was senior vice president of operating excellence at Mondelez International, where he led the company's global transformation program through improving execution across the business as well as cost savings initiatives.

“ Throughout his time at Kraft, Mr. Kehoe has driven a variety of finance functions, including spearheading the financial structuring of the company at the time of its spin-off from Mondelez International,” Kraft said in a statement.