Campbell's Recipe for a CEO Yields Denise Morrison

When Andy Warhol started painting soup cans in 1962, Campbell Soup Co. (CPB) did not send its thanks. It sent lawyers. That's the kind of company Campbell is. It's not being at one with the zeitgeist that moved 2 billion cans of soup in the U.S. last year, part of a unit that accounted for more than two-thirds of its profits. It's a commitment to deliver an affordable, predictable meal that's not meant to be a work of art.

It follows that Campbell's leadership is nice and predictable, too. The company has had just 11 chief executive officers since its founding in 1869, and as it prepares to anoint its 12th, it has spent more than a year managing a very deliberate public succession—all the better for employees and analysts to get accustomed to the taste of it. On June 23, the board confirmed that Denise Morrison, 57, will replace Douglas Conant, 60, on Aug. 1.