John Haugen

In 2016, John was named to Forbes Magazine’s Consumer Catalyst Awards: The Consumer Industries’ Top Dealmakers and Influencers list and also Crain’s 100: 100 Innovators, Disruptors and Change-Makers in Business.

John joined General Mills in 1990 as an Assistant Marketing Manager. He has held numerous positions in marketing, general management and talent acquisition. He was promoted to Marketing Director at General Mills in 1997 and to Vice President in 2001, serving in this capacity for Yoplait USA, driving business growth of ~15% CGR for three years. In 2003, he moved to the Big G Cereal Division, leading the New Enterprises team. In this role, he spearheaded the transformational conversion of the entire cereal portfolio to whole grain and also launched strategic brand extensions for Cheerios and Fiber One brands.

John was tapped to lead the newly created Health and Wellness Center of Excellence in October, 2005. During his tenure here, General Mills made nutritional improvements to over 75% of its product line. He has led several innovative programs including the launch of Curves Foods (cereal, snacks) and the launch of the Best Life Diet with Bob Greene. In January, 2009 he launched the Pound for Pound Challenge in collaboration with Feeding America and NBC’s hit TV series The Biggest Loser. This program inspired Americans to lose weight and, in the process, delivered over 12 million pounds of food to local food banks.

In 2012, John created and lead 301 INC, a newly created new business development team at General Mills. In this role, he led a cross-functional venture capital initiative aimed at generating and incubating new brands and business models to drive future growth for the company.

John received a BA from St. Olaf College with degrees in Mathematics and Economics; in 2011, he was named the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the college. He received his MBA from The Anderson School at UCLA. He lives in Minneapolis with his wife and four children, and has a passion for fitness and competitive endurance sports.