Todd Stitzer


H. Todd Stitzer is an American businessman who served as the chief executive officer of Cadbury plc from 2003 to 2010.

Early life

Stitzer was born in the United States, the son of a YMCA director and a nurse, and is a naturalised British citizen. He was educated at Ridgewood High School, New Jersey, Springfield College, Massachusetts. He then obtained a B.A. from Harvard University and a J.D. from Columbia Law School.

Career

He joined New York law firm, Lord Day & Lord, in 1973 as an associate attorney
In 1983, joined Cadbury North America as Assistant General Counsel, later becoming marketing chief for US beverages. He moved to London in 1991 as Group Development Director and then back to the United States in 1993 as Vice-President of Marketing and Strategic Planning and then Chief Operating Officer for Cadbury Beverages, North America. He was President and Chief Executive Officer of Dr Pepper/Seven Up from 1997 to 2000 and Chief Strategy Officer from 2000 to 2003. He joined the board of Cadbury plc in 2000 and in 2003, was appointed Chief Executive Officer. On 2 February 2010 Kraft Foods Inc. successfully completed the acquisition of Cadbury which was originally a hostile takeover, the next day Stitzer along with Cadbury Chairman Roger Carr announced their resignations. Stitzer had worked for Cadbury plc for 27 years.
Stitzer is a regular churchgoer and enjoys tennis, skiing and sailing. His favourite book is philosopher Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. He has two children, a boy and a girl, and homes in Connecticut and Surrey.