Eric Leininger

Eric is a Clinical Professor of Executive Education at Kellogg. He leads the Kellogg Chief Marketing Officer Program for newly appointed and rising Chief Marketing Officers. Now in its sixth year, this by-invitation-only program has attracted attendees from leading organizations including Cisco, Colgate-:Palmolive, Discover, General Motors, IBM, Intel, John Deere, McDonald’s, Motorola Solutions, NetApp, and SAP. Several notable CMOs are graduates of this program. Eric also plays a key role in numerous Kellogg programs, including Leading with Big Data & Analytics, The Customer-Focused Organization, and Kellogg on Branding.

Prior to joining Kellogg, Eric was Corporate Senior Vice President at McDonald’s (2004-2010) and a member of the McDonald’s Senior Leadership Team, comprised of the business unit leaders and the global function leaders. Eric joined McDonald’s from Kraft Foods North America, where he held a variety of marketing services and information positions (1993-2004) including SVP Marketing Services. Before Kraft, Eric held positions of increasing responsibility at ACNielsen (1990-1993) and Quaker Oats (1981-1990.)

Previous consulting and coaching assignments include ABInBev, John Deere,  Mattel, Sense360, Ulta Beauty, and Verizon.

Eric is currently based in Chicago, Illinois.

Certification

• KF360 – Korn Ferry

Key Positions

• Executive Director, Kellogg Chief Marketing Officer Program, Northwestern University
• Corporate SVP, Global Consumer & Business Insights and Marketing Planning, McDonald’s Corp.
• SVP, Marketing Services, Kraft Foods North America

Board Positions

• Association of National Advertisers (Finance Chair)
• Ad Council
• National 4-H Council (Vice-Chair)

Key Industries

• Consumer Food and Beverage
• Marketing Services
• Restaurants
• Retail

Core Strengths

• Executive Development for Marketing Talent
• Global Branding
• Global Consumer and Business Insights
• Marketing Services
• Marketing Strategy and Planning
• Organization Design and Effectiveness for Marketing, Insights, and Analytics

Education

• Master of Business Administration, University of Michigan, Elected to Beta Gamma Sigma
• Master of Arts, University of Virginia
• Bachelor of Arts, University of Pennsylvania, cum laude

Practice Areas

• Executive Coaching
• Executive Education
• Global Branding, Marketing, and Insights
• Leadership Development
• Marketing Strategy
• Organization Design & Effectiveness: Marketing, Insights, & Analytics Teams