Kraft Heinz replacing chief financial officer

CHICAGO — Kraft Heinz Co. is bringing back its former chief financial officer amid accounting problems and falling sales.

Paulo Basilio, 44, joined H.J. Heinz as CFO in 2013 and remained in the job after the company’s 2015 merger with Kraft. He most recently served as Kraft Heinz’s chief business development officer. Basilio will take over the role on Sunday.

He replaces David Knopf, 31, who will return to Brazilian private equity firm 3G Capital. 3G and investor Warren Buffett engineered the Kraft Heinz merger in 2015. Knopf, who previously worked at Goldman Sachs, was 29 when he got the role of CFO at Kraft Heinz in 2017.

Chief Executive Officer Miguel Patricio put Basilio back in the CFO role in order to have a “seasoned veteran” in the post, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The company’s familiar brands like Oscar Meyer and Velveeta are struggling as consumers opt for healthier and more natural foods or cheaper store brands.

Shares of Kraft Heinz are still reeling from a $15.4 billion write-down on the value of its brands earlier this year. Internal inquiries have also revealed accounting issues that led the company to restate several years of earnings, and it has received a subpoena. And just Friday, S&P Global Ratings said it could downgrade Kraft Heinz to a junk credit rating by mid2021 if it fails to reduce its debt levels.

On a call with investors earlier this month, Kraft Heinz shares fell sharply after Patricio declined to offer forecasts for the company’s performance. He pledged a broad review of the business and said Kraft Heinz needs a long-term plan.

“We do not view the CFO transition as surprising given the erosion of investors’ confidence, multiple impairment charges, and a tedious accounting investigation,” Wells Fargo analyst John Baumgartner wrote in a research note. “Now is a good time for a reset.”

The company, which splits its headquarters between Chicago and Pittsburgh, also named Nina Barton as chief growth officer. Barton has been serving as president of the Canada division and digital growth.

Kraft Heinz stock rose about 1% to $25.58 in Monday’s trading. It hit an all-time low of $24.89 last week.