Kellogg Brings in Former Campbell CEO Doug Conant to Teach Leadership Skills

When Doug Conant became chief executive of Campbell Soup in 2001, the iconic brand was badly in need of reinvention. Condensed soups had fallen out of favor with customers, sales were down, and successful new products were nonexistent. Conant tossed 300 senior executives to the curb and overhauled everything from product lines, to advertising, to store displays.

Conant is bringing that leadership style to Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, where he’ll head the new Kellogg Executive Leadership Institute. The institute will focus on preparing C-suite executives for the challenges of leadership roles in the 21 century. Conant, a Kellogg alumnus himself, will arrive on campus this fall and says the institute will be fully operational by 2014.