DOWNERS GROVE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sara Lee Corp. (NYSE: SLE) announced that its board of directors has agreed to appoint Jan Bennink, executive chairman of Sara Lee, as the chairman of the board of “CoffeeCo”. This appointment will take effect after the planned spin-off of Sara Lee’s international coffee and tea business is completed in the first half of calendar 2012.

Bennink, 54, joined Sara Lee in Jan. 2011 and his primary responsibilities are the leadership and implementation of the spin-off, in addition to chairing the board of directors and building and maintaining a senior management team.

“I believe this business and its leading brands have tremendous promise, and by focusing on innovation, marketing and operational efficiencies, we will be successful,” said Bennink. “I look forward to continuing to work closely with the CoffeeCo management team and its new leader, Michiel Herkemij, to help this great business reach its full potential,” said Bennink.

Bennink has extensive executive leadership experience in the food and beverage and consumer packaged goods industries. Prior to Sara Lee, he served as chief executive officer of Royal Numico and has held key management positions with Groupe Danone, Benckiser Gmbh and Procter & Gamble. Bennink previously served on the advisory board of ABN AMRO, as well as on the boards of various global companies, including Kraft Foods. He is currently a director of Coca-Cola Enterprises.

CoffeeCo’s leading brands will include Douwe Egberts, Senseo, Pickwick, Maison du Café, L’OR, Café Pilão and Marcilla.

About Sara Lee Corporation

Each and every day, Sara Lee (NYSE: SLE) delights millions of consumers and customers around the world. The company has one of the world’s best-loved and leading portfolios with its innovative and trusted food and beverage brands, including Ball Park, Douwe Egberts, Hillshire Farm, Jimmy Dean, Sara Lee and Senseo. Collectively, our brands generate nearly $9 billion in annual net sales from continuing operations. Sara Lee has approximately 20,000 employees in its continuing operations worldwide. In January, 2011, Sara Lee Corp. announced that it will divide the company into two pure play publicly-traded companies. One company will be focused around the current International Coffee and Tea business, while the other company will be focused on the North American Retail Meats and North American Foodservice businesses. For more information on this news, and on Sara Lee's brands, please visit www.saralee.com.