Have you ever said something that you regretted or perhaps you were forced into saying something you didn’t want to say? I don’t know which is the case with the CEO of Kellogg’s, but he sure did put his foot in his mouth.
Gary Pilnick, who has been with the company for about 23 years was made the CEO in October. He also has a knack for saying the wrong thing, and that is exactly what he did when he talked about many people in the United States who were struggling financially.
Pilnick good have given some solid advice on how to build up your finances but what he did is suggest people should eat cereal more frequently.
Considering the fact that he earns approximately $5 million per year, this didn’t sit well with many people. Specifically, he said: “If you think about the cost of cereal for a family versus what they might otherwise do, that’s going to be much more affordable.”
He also went on to say that he could help consumers who were under pressure because a bowl of cereal cost less than a dollar. He added: “In general, the cereal category is a place that a lot of folks might come to because the price of a bowl of cereal with milk and with fruit is less than a dollar. So you can imagine why a consumer under pressure might find that to be a good place to go.”
After making this statement, people were very quick to say how much they did not appreciate it. They also were quick to point out that the bottom line of the cereal company would benefit, while he was eating out at five-star restaurants every night or having his personal chef cooking dinner.
I’m not saying that it’s a bad idea to eat cereal if you are short on funds, but this didn’t necessarily come from the right place.