General Mills general counsel to retire

General Mills veteran Richard Allendorf will retire as the company’s senior vice president, general counsel and secretary in August this year. He joined Minneapolis-based General Mills in 1998.

Allendorf began his career at General Mills supporting the company’s US retail business and consumer food sales. In 2012 he was appointed vice president and deputy general counsel for international matters with responsibility for developing legal strategies and managing legal matters for General Mills’ international business.

In his current role, he oversees the General Mills law department, external and government relations and global security. He also oversaw the company’s global ethics and compliance program.

Before joining General Mills, Allendorf was in private practice with law firm Shearman & Sterling in New York and later joined the Minneapolis firm Mackall Crounse & Moore (now DeWitt). 

General Mills’ portfolio of brands includes Cheerios, Nature Valley, Blue Buffalo, Häagen-Dazs, Old El Paso, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Yoplait and Annie’s.

Chair and CEO Jeff Harmening says in a statement: ‘Richard’s leadership throughout his tenure has helped position General Mills for success. He has provided thoughtful, strategic and practical counsel that has better positioned our company for growth.

‘He has served as a trusted voice on our leadership team, been a valued liaison to our board of directors and helped support our culture of inclusion. I’m grateful for his contributions to General Mills during his 23 years and wish him well in his retirement.’