The Hillshire Brands Co. announced that Brian Davison, 47, joined the company as senior vice president, corporate strategy and development. Davison will be responsible for acquisition, merger and divestiture activities, strategic planning and implementing high impact projects. He joined the company on Jan. 2, and will report to Sean Connolly, chief executive officer.

"Brian has deep food industry and consumer knowledge that he uses to create high impact strategic and operational plans," said Connolly. "His addition to our management team will help focus our business development activities and build additional momentum for companywide operational improvement priorities."

Davison joins Hillshire Brands from Kraft Foods, Inc., where he was vice president strategic planning. At Kraft, he was responsible for leading global strategic planning, developing portfolio strategy, and advising on a variety of strategic matters and projects.

Prior to Kraft, Davison was a principal at Booz & Company, Inc., where he led a wide variety of strategy and business development projects in the consumer, pharmaceutical and agribusiness industries.

Davison has a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois as well as a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.

Source: Hillshire Brands Co.