Danone North America CMO Linda Bethea Exits Amid Marketing Restructure

Linda Bethea is stepping down as Chief Marketing Officer at Danone North America, according to a report by Adweek, as part of an ongoing reorganisation of the company’s marketing leadership. Her exit follows a broader management restructuring announced in August, which began reshaping senior teams across the business.Bethea joined Danone North America in late 2019 as Head of Marketing and was later promoted to the top marketing role, a position she has held for nearly two years. Her departure comes ahead of a larger global transformation planned for 2026, when Danone will reorganise its operations into three geographic divisions  EMEA, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas  moving away from previous structures to streamline decision-making and regional accountability.

With over 20 years of experience in the food and beverage sector, Bethea built a career leading major marketing teams before arriving at Danone. Prior to her appointment, she spent more than three years at Diageo as Vice President of Marketing. Even earlier, she worked at PepsiCo for over a decade, taking on roles across marketing, innovation, and sales, including stints with Frito-Lay and Pepsi Beverages, where she gained hands-on experience in both consumer branding and commercial growth functions.

Her exit marks another notable leadership change at Danone North America as the company continues to realign its global business ahead of next year’s regional restructuring.