For Irene Rosenfeld '75, M.S. '77, Ph.D. '80, who is CEO and chairman of Kraft Foods Inc., the formula for turning around the fortune of the huge international corporation was simple: "I encouraged our team to think about our company as a $35 billion startup," she explained.

As the featured 2007 Lewis H. Durland Memorial lecturer, sponsored by Cornell's Johnson School, Rosenfeld spoke on the "Anatomy of a Turnaround: Returning Kraft to Reliable Growth," Oct. 18, in Statler Auditorium. She described Kraft Foods' ongoing campaign to become more streamlined and competitive, which began when she became its CEO in June 2006.

At that time, she said, Kraft was suffering from stagnant growth, poor organization and little product innovation. Determined to turn the situation around, Rosenfeld instituted a "road map," which included sweeping changes to the company's organization, business practices and attitude.

Most important to her strategy, Rosenfeld said, was inspiring Kraft managers and employees to embrace new ideas and strive for innovation, instead of maintaining aging traditions.

"We [were] asking for less conformity and more candor, less caution and more courage, less consensus and more action," she said.

Under Rosenfeld's leadership, Kraft has been streamlining its corporate structure and making business units more accountable. Already, it has begun basing executive bonuses directly on performance and encouraging employees at all levels to contribute new ideas to the business, Rosenfeld said.

In addition, Kraft is trying to make products more relevant to consumers. For example, the company has introduced such highly successful offerings as Oreo Snack Cakes and the DiGiorno pizza line, and existing products are being redesigned to improve taste without increasing costs.

Also central to Kraft's revitalization, Rosenfeld said, is her emphasis to "communicate, communicate, communicate." Rosenfeld has traveled around the world to meet with employees and seek their input, and she uses such technologies as podcasts and webcasts to communicate effectively with as wide an audience as possible. In addition, celebrating improvements publicly has encouraged employees and reinforced effective ways of thinking, she said.

Nine months into her three-year plan to reinvigorate the company, Kraft's operating costs have markedly declined, Rosenfeld reported, many of its products are rating more highly with consumers, and the company has enjoyed substantial growth in developing countries.

Rosenfeld not only earned three degrees from Cornell but also serves as a Cornell a trustee and is the parent of a student in the Class of 2008. "Cornell has played such a significant role in my life and my success," she said.

The annual Durland lecture was established in 1983 through a fund created by the late Roy H. Park, chairman of Park Communications, in honor of Lewis Durland, who served as treasurer of Cornell for a quarter-century before retiring in 1973.

Christopher Tozzi '08 is a writer intern at the Cornell Chronicle.