Ian R. Friendly Executive Vice President; Chief Operating Officer, U.S. Retail

Ian Friendly has corporate oversight of Big G, Yoplait, Meals, Pillsbury U.S., Snacks and the Baking Products Division.

Previously as  president and CEO of Cereal Partners Worldwide (CPW) - General Mills’ joint venture with Nestlé – he was responsible for a billion-dollar-plus global cereal business which distributes to over 130 countries outside of North America.

Ian Friendly brings to his current executive position extensive experience in the cereal business both internationally and domestically where he once served as president of the Big G cereal division.  This division is home to General Mills’ large U.S. cereal business, which has a portfolio of consumer favorites that include Cheerios, Lucky Charms and Wheaties.  From 1994 to 1998, he served as vice president of CPW, where he led expansion throughout Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

Friendly was named president of Yoplait-Colombo in 1998. In the four years under his leadership, the yogurt business achieved extraordinary growth, and Yoplait became the No. 1 selling yogurt in the United States.
Friendly began his career in 1983 as a marketing assistant with General Mills Canada.  A year later, he moved to the U.S. cereal business. 

Over the next decade, Friendly held progressively broader marketing assignments in the Big G and Betty Crocker divisions.  Friendly was elected a senior vice president in 2000.

He serves as an advisory board member of the Queen’s University School of Business in Kingston, Ontario, and as a board member of Artspace Projects, Inc. in Minneapolis. Friendly also serves on the board of directors for The Valspar Corporation and Minnesota Public Radio.

Friendly received his bachelor’s degree in commerce from Queen’s University in 1983.