US food giant Kraft Heinz has lined up Angel Shelton Willis as its next global general counsel, replacing Rashida La Lande, who quit the company in August.

Willis is joining from US packaging company Sealed Air, where she was GC and corporate secretary, leading the global legal, ethics, compliance, regulatory and corporate affairs functions. At Kraft Heinz, she will oversee all global legal matters. She will take up her new role on 18 November and will be based in the company’s Chicago co-headquarters.

Kraft Heinz is one of the world’s largest food companies and owns a host of household name food products, including Heinz Ketchup and Heinz Beanz, as well as condiment brands such as HP Sauce and Lea & Perrins.

Carlos Abrams-Rivera, Kraft Heinz CEO, said: “Welcoming Angel to our leadership team is an important step for Kraft Heinz as we continue our transformation journey. Her legal and corporate affairs expertise, along with her strategic vision, will strengthen our legal framework and further enable our 10-year strategy.”

Willis arrives after just under six years at Sealed Air, having previously spent 14 years at air conditioning systems company Trane Technologies across a number of roles, including as GC of its Europe, Middle East, India and Africa business and deputy GC for M&A and global commercial law. Prior to that she spent three years as corporate counsel at automotive business Cummins, having started her legal career in private practice at Ice Miller.

She said: “I’m thrilled to join Kraft Heinz at such a pivotal time for the company and the industry. I’m inspired by Kraft Heinz’s mission to lead the future of food, and I look forward to collaborating with the team to navigate the evolving legal landscape and help drive the next chapter of growth.”

La Lande, meantime, left Kraft Heinz to take up the GC role at US luxury cosmetics group The Estée Lauder Companies, replacing Deirdre Stanley.

In other recent food-related moves, in August US retail chain Target hired Amy Tu from US food processing company Tyson Foods as chief legal officer. And in May, Hormel Foods – which is best known for its tinned SPAM brand – hired Colleen Batcheler as GC from rental car business Hertz.