Rows of sauce-filled glass jars passing machinery in an amber-lit packaged-food factory.

Title: Charles R. Shoemate Biography: From Supervisor to Chairman

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In May 2000, Unilever offered $66 a share for Bestfoods. The American packaged-food company resisted. On June 6, the two sides announced an agreement at $73 a share. The takeover was completed that October.

Bestfoods was led by Charles R. “Dick” Shoemate, its chairman, president and chief executive. He had joined as a supervisor in 1962, long before the company adopted the Bestfoods name. By the time of the sale, his career had encompassed an expansion of international food brands and the separation of the company’s corn-refining business.

A Quick Look at the Life of Charles R. Shoemate

Biography Summary

Charles R. Shoemate was a U.S. packaged-food executive who rose through CPC International to become its president, CEO and chairman. During his tenure, the company expanded its international brands, spun off corn refining and emerged as Bestfoods, which Unilever acquired in 2000. He later served as a Unilever advisory director and on other corporate boards.

Profile

Full Name: Charles R. Shoemate

Also Known As: Dick Shoemate

Born: 1939, according to Harvard Business School’s historical profile

Birthplace: Illinois, according to the same profile

Education: Western Illinois University; MBA, University of Chicago, 1971

Best Known For: Leading CPC International/Bestfoods through international brand expansion, the separation of its corn-refining operation and the 2000 Unilever acquisition

Major Roles: President and director from 1988; chief executive officer from August 1990; chairman from September 1990; Unilever advisory director after the 2000 takeover until 2003

From a Supervisory Job to the Executive Suite

Harvard Business School’s historical profile records that Shoemate was born in Illinois in 1939. The available record says little about his childhood or family. The clearer record begins with his education and his first supervisory job in the food business.

Shoemate attended Western Illinois University. In 1962, he joined the organization that would become CPC International and Bestfoods, starting as a supervisor. While advancing in the business, he earned an MBA from the University of Chicago in 1971.

He worked his way up inside the company. Shoemate became president and a director in 1988, then chief executive officer in August 1990 and chairman the following September. His appointment as chairman came nearly three decades after his first job there.

Expanding Food Brands Across Borders

As chief executive, Shoemate oversaw a business that combined corn processing with an expanding portfolio of consumer foods. Acquisitions helped extend that portfolio abroad. The University of Chicago Booth School of Business credits the company during his leadership with more than 50 acquisitions, many outside the United States. This was a company-wide record, not a tally of deals Shoemate personally negotiated.

A substantial addition came in 1995, when CPC agreed to buy Kraft’s baking business for approximately $865 million. Contemporary reports named Entenmann’s, Oroweat and Boboli among the brands involved. The agreement widened CPC’s packaged-food interests alongside its established grocery lines.

Alongside the acquisitions, CPC was confronting the cost of restructuring its operations.

Restructuring and the Costs of Change

In June 1994, CPC announced a $227 million pretax restructuring charge and planned workforce reductions affecting approximately 9% of employees. That percentage described the plan, not a verified final count of layoffs. Shoemate said further restructuring would be compressed into the following 18 to 24 months.

CPC also faced a civil antitrust lawsuit in which customers alleged misconduct in its high-fructose corn-syrup business. In 1996, the company agreed to a $7 million settlement while denying the allegations and citing the costs and risks of litigation. The settlement was a corporate action, not a finding of personal wrongdoing by Shoemate.

The next major change concerned the relationship between CPC’s industrial corn operations and its consumer-food brands.

The 1997 Decision to Separate Corn Refining

In February 1997, CPC announced plans to separate corn refining from its consumer-food business. Shoemate publicly explained that the two operations were becoming a less natural fit. Corn refining served industrial and commodity markets; CPC’s other side sold branded packaged foods to consumers.

The separation took effect on December 31, 1997. CPC distributed shares of its corn-refining subsidiary to shareholders, making Corn Products International an independent company. The business spun off was corn refining, not the branded-food parent.

The continuing parent focused on branded consumer foods and operated under the Bestfoods name in the years that followed. The separation had changed not just the company’s structure but the kind of business it chiefly pursued.

Bestfoods on the Eve of the Unilever Bid

Bestfoods’ 1999 results showed the scale of its branded-food operation. A June 2000 corporate announcement reported $8.6 billion in sales for 1999, operations in more than 60 countries and products marketed in 110. The portfolio included Knorr, Hellmann’s/Best Foods, Skippy, Mazola, Thomas’ English muffins and Entenmann’s.

In February 2000, Bestfoods finalized its purchase of the Arisco food business in Brazil, extending its international portfolio shortly before Unilever’s approach.

After years of building the food portfolio, Shoemate faced a different prospect: the sale of Bestfoods itself.

From a Resisted Offer to a $73-a-Share Agreement

Unilever initially proposed $66 for each Bestfoods share in May 2000. Bestfoods resisted as investors and analysts weighed the company’s future. Contemporary coverage mentioned possible alternative combinations, but it did not establish a binding rival deal.

On June 6, the Bestfoods and Unilever boards announced a definitive agreement at $73 in cash per Bestfoods share. The joint announcement valued the equity at approximately $20.3 billion. Adding about $4.0 billion in assumed debt brought the total transaction value to roughly $24.3 billion. The two valuations described different measures of the same deal.

Shoemate publicly endorsed the agreement in the joint statement: “We believe that this agreement achieves outstanding value for both sets of shareholders.” It was his stated assessment as Bestfoods chairman, president and CEO, not an independent judgment about the deal’s value to every investor.

The June agreement still required approvals. As the acquisition moved toward completion, Shoemate’s own role was about to change.

Leaving Full-Time Leadership, Continuing on Boards

On October 2, 2000, Unilever announced that Shoemate had elected not to take a full-time executive position in the enlarged company. He would instead become a Unilever advisory director.

Two days later, on October 4, Unilever completed the Bestfoods acquisition. Shoemate’s change of role ended his nearly four decades in full-time employment with the business.

Shoemate retired from his Unilever advisory directorship in 2003. He also served on other corporate boards, retiring from International Paper’s effective December 31, 2005, and from Chevron’s on May 30, 2012.

What Changed During Shoemate’s Career

The $73-a-share sale was a defining event in Shoemate’s tenure, but it was not the only one. CPC widened its international food portfolio through acquisitions, undertook a costly restructuring and separated corn refining to sharpen its focus on consumer brands.

Shoemate had arrived as a supervisor in 1962. He left full-time management as the company he had led became part of Unilever. Between those points, the business changed as much through what it separated from itself as through what it acquired.

Timeline

Selected milestones trace Charles R. Shoemate’s career, CPC’s shift toward branded foods and the transition following Unilever’s acquisition.

Timeline.

1939

Harvard Business School’s historical profile records Shoemate’s birth in Illinois.

1962

Joins the enterprise later known as CPC International/Bestfoods as a supervisor.

1971

Earns an MBA from the University of Chicago.

1988–1990

Becomes president and a director in 1988, CEO in August 1990 and chairman in September 1990.

June 1994

CPC announces a $227 million pretax restructuring charge and planned workforce reductions affecting approximately 9% of employees.

1995–1996

CPC agrees to acquire Kraft’s baking business in 1995. In 1996, the company settles a customers’ civil antitrust lawsuit for $7 million while denying the allegations.

February–December 1997

CPC announces a plan to separate corn refining in February. Corn Products International becomes independent through a share distribution effective December 31.

1999

Bestfoods reports sales of $8.6 billion for the year; its operations span more than 60 countries.

February–May 2000

Bestfoods finalizes the Arisco acquisition in Brazil in February. Unilever’s initial $66-per-share approach in May meets resistance.

June 6, 2000

Bestfoods and Unilever announce a definitive acquisition agreement at $73 per share.

October 2–4, 2000

Unilever announces Shoemate’s planned advisory directorship on October 2 and completes its acquisition of Bestfoods on October 4.

2003–2012

Retires from the Unilever advisory directorship in 2003, the International Paper board in 2005 and the Chevron board in 2012.

FAQs

Was Charles R. Shoemate the founder of Bestfoods?

No. Charles R. Shoemate joined the established business later known as CPC International/Bestfoods as a supervisor in 1962. He rose through its leadership ranks, becoming president in 1988 and CEO and chairman in 1990.

Which part of CPC International was spun off in 1997?

The corn-refining subsidiary was separated through a distribution of its shares to CPC shareholders, and Corn Products International became independent on December 31, 1997. The branded consumer-food business stayed with the parent company, which later operated as Bestfoods.

Did Unilever pay $20.3 billion or $24.3 billion for Bestfoods?

The companies’ June 2000 announcement gave approximately $20.3 billion as the equity value and about $24.3 billion as the total transaction value after including roughly $4.0 billion in assumed debt. The agreed cash price was $73 per Bestfoods share.

Did Shoemate become a full-time Unilever executive after the takeover?

No. Unilever announced that Charles R. Shoemate had chosen not to take a full-time executive position in the combined business. He became an advisory director after the 2000 acquisition and retired from that role in 2003.

Interviews

Shoemate on the 2000 Bestfoods Bid

This June 2000 Business Report article includes an interview with Shoemate alongside reporting on investors’ responses to Unilever’s bid. It captures the public debate over the proposed sale and Shoemate’s reluctance to discuss possible alternative talks.

Read the interview and report

Sources