Carla Vernón

Carla Vernón is Business Unit Director for Yoplait Yogurt at General Mills, where she is responsible for volume, profit, manufacturing, marketing, and innovation for new yogurt segments and brands including Yoplait Greek, Liberté, and Mountain High Yogurt brands. Prior to her current role, Carla was a Business Unit Director in the largest operating division at General Mills and managed a $1.5 billion portfolio of iconic breakfast cereals that includes Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Chex, Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs, and Kix. Her management responsibilities also included leadership of the overall health and wellness strategy for all of the General Mills Big G Cereals. Previously, she was in the Corporate Development group of General Mills supporting the CEO and his executive team in developing long-term company strategy and evaluating targets for mergers or acquisitions. Carla's career has also included leading business turnarounds and establishing category leadership on declining businesses such as: Lucky Charms, Chex Cereal, Honey Nut Cheerios, Bisquick, Fruit Roll-ups, and Small Planet Foods. Prior to joining General Mills, Carla worked for The Nature Conservancy, City Year, and for U.S. Senator Carol Moseley-Braun. She serves on the national board of directors for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, is an alumni class officer for Princeton University, volunteers at her church as a Sunday school teacher, and plays an active role as a volunteer at school for her children. Carla received her AB in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University and an MBA from the University of Texas, Austin (as a Consortium Fellow). She is a 2009 Henry Crown Fellow of The Aspen Institute and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.