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6 February 2012 | Adam Leach

Former Diageo head of global procurement, John Dickson, is to become chief procurement officer at food giant HJ Heinz from 1 March.

Dickson will be responsible for global sourcing and procurement for the company, which owns the market-leading ketchup and baked beans brands. He will play a crucial role in helping the business generate cost savings of more than $1 billion (£634.6 million) through a number of supply chain initiatives over the next five years.

Speaking to SM, Dickson said: "I'm really looking forward to getting my hands around the global agenda for
procurement at Heinz and building on the work already done. The chance to shift the bar and raise the performance
of the function, not just at Heinz but across the board will be exciting.”

Dickson's appointment as CPO, who also previously held a number of senior procurement roles at pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, follows the departure of Chris Stockwell last year.

A spokesman for the company said: “John [Dickson] will be responsible for implementing Heinz’s global procurement strategy to improve sourcing and procurement effectiveness and performance. He will be based in the UK and report directly to Bob Ostryniec, senior vice president and chief supply chain officer.”