CHICAGO — Dafne Hefner has been named chief strategy and transformation officer for The Kraft Heinz Co.’s newly created North America Zone.

The company in December announced plans to create a North America Zone by combining its United States and Canada businesses. The new zone will begin structural transition in early 2022, with full organizational and financial reporting changes expected to take effect at the start of its second fiscal quarter.  

Prior to joining Kraft Heinz, Hefner spent nine years at Anheuser-Busch InBev, holding positions in insights, marketing and digital. She most recently was senior vice president of strategy and insights at the global brewing company. Before that, she spent several years as a services and consumer products strategy consultant and co-founded a data analytics technology startup. She holds a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica and a master’s degree in product innovation and business from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Hefner will bring strategic planning, processes and digital capabilities to Kraft Heinz’s North America Zone, said Carlos Abrams-Rivera, president of the new business unit. She will work with other members of the North America leadership team to improve the agility of the unit’s innovation efforts and operations in the region.

“Dafne brings a tremendous amount of leadership and experience to the critical areas we’ve been building since late 2020,” Abrams-Rivera said.