Jodi Benson

As Chief Innovation, Technology and Quality Officer for General Mills, Jodi Benson is responsible for the invention and commercialization of new food products and technologies by providing increasingly higher levels of health, taste and convenience.

Benson’s responsibility for the General Mills Quality organization is focused on delivering brands that consumers can trust and value through the company’s global leadership in consumer and product safety, product quality, and regulatory and technical excellence.

Benson joined Pillsbury in 1990 and joined General Mills when the company acquired Pillsbury in 2001. She then moved into the Strategy & Innovation team and later spent three years in Baking in a unique role combining ITQ and New Business leadership responsibilities. Benson was promoted to an officer level role in 2011.

Benson has served in two key global leadership roles based outside of the U.S. – the leader of One Global Dairy Platform, based in France from 2012 to 2015, and the ITQ leader for General Mills’ international business segment from 2015 to 2016.

Most recently, Benson served as leader for the integrated ITQ Centers of Excellence, focused on the broad set of capabilities most critical for General Mills’ ongoing success, such as Food Safety, Nutrition, Scientific & Regulatory Affairs as well as Product Design & Innovation.

Before joining the company, she worked as an R&D engineer at Kraft Foods.