[1] Vernon holds a bachelor's degree from Lawrence University in history and a Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.
[2] During his 23-year career at Johnson & Johnson, Vernon ran independent business units and led consumer brands such as Tylenol, Motrin, Pepcid AC, Imodium and Splenda.
[2] He then served as healthcare industry partner of Ripplewood Holdings for three years before joining Kraft in 2009.
[3] After Mondelēz International spun off Kraft on October 1, 2012, Vernon became CEO.
[4] At the time of the split, Kraft Foods (which included brands such as Oscar Mayer, Planters, Velveeta, Kool-Aid, Miracle Whip, Capri Sun, A1, Cool Whip and Jell-O) was the fourth-largest food and beverage company in North America, trailing PepsiCo, Nestle and Coca-Cola.