THE GORDON McGOVERN ERA: 1980-89
Gordon McGovern was in business school when Margaret Rudkin, founder of Pepperidge Farm, spoke to his class. Rudkin told how she had built her bread company from scratch in an industry dominated by giants. McGovern was impressed. He wrote to Rudkin for a job, received it in 1956, and began his climb through Pepperidge Farm’s ranks. When Campbell acquired it in 1961, Pepperidge Farm had sales of $40 million and had only reached $60 million when McGovern became its president in 1968. When McGovern was named president of Campbell in 1980, Pepperidge Farm’s annual sales had grown to $300 million under his leadership. McGovern implemented several key elements of Pepperidge Farm’s strategy when he look over at Campbell: creativity and a willingness to experiment, emphasis on new-product development, and strong competencies in marketing,