Bill Johnson has been confirmed as the new chairman of Heinz ­ only the fifth person to hold the post in the company's 131-year history. He succeeds Tony O'Reilly who has retired after 13 years as chairman and a 31-year career at Heinz. O'Reilly, the biggest individual shareholder in Heinz, said he did not own a single share when he joined the company in 1969, but had been "well rewarded" by building his stock holdings over the years, "reinvesting everything I could back into the company". O'Reilly, often described as the food industry's "only true superstar", bowed out at the Heinz agm. Johnson told shareholders at the meeting: "Tony transformed Heinz into a global food company and was one of the first truly global CEOs." O'Reilly will be a difficult act to follow. But he has been grooming Johnson as his successor since 1997 and described him as being a "consistent, loyal, tough, and talented" leader. As well as being chairman, 51-year-old Johnson will continue to serve as president and CEO ­ a post he has held since April 1998. In 1997 The Grocer profiled Johnson, and quoted one colleague describing him as an "energetic guy with a built-in bullshit detector". Johnson told us: "I would call myself intense rather than hard, and even intrusive ­ which is a little unusual for Heinz. I read articles which say I have no sense of humour and yet if you talk to people around me, they will tell you that is far from the truth. "I am sure I am tough and direct but I think I am fair." {{PEOPLE MOVES }}

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