Page 3 Profile: Bernardo Hees, CEO HJ Heinz Company

Bernardo Hees (AP)

He looks saucy...

Hees, 43, is the recently appointed CEO of ketchup and beans-related 57 varieties empire HJ Heinz.

So what’s on his plate?

He was previously the head of Burger King, so arch-rivals McDonald’s now say they will no longer stock Heinz tomato ketchup.

Wow. They’re really putting the squeeze on him.

McDonald’s have made it clear that their reasons for ending the 40-year relationship are personal. “As a result of management changes at Heinz, we have decided to transition our business to other suppliers,” it said in a statement. The main impact will be international; in the US only Pittsburgh (the home-city of Heinz) and Minneapolis serve Heinz ketchup with their McDonald’s fries.

That sounds half-baked.

True, but Hees is no stranger to controversy. In 2011 he had to apologise for insulting the whole of Britain after saying the food is terrible and the women are not very attractive. On the ketchup issue, he has refused to comment.

Heinz must be feeling red faced?

They have been making an effort to get more and more McDonalds to stock them, and this setback will remind them of the 1970s when they were unable to meet a quota due to a tomato shortage. But with a value of around $10bn they should be okay.