Conagra Brands names John Brase CEO effective June 1, succeeding Sean Connolly
Conagra Brands said John Brase, former President and Chief Operating Officer of The J.M. Smucker Company, will become President and Chief Executive Officer and a director effective June 1, 2026. Sean Connolly will step down as CEO and from the Board on May 31, 2026. The filing discloses Brase's pay package, which includes a $1.15 million base salary for fiscal 2027 and sign-on equity awards, and the terms of Connolly's separation benefits.
Key points
- Brase, 58, served as President and Chief Operating Officer of J.M. Smucker from April 2025 to February 2026 and spent about 30 years at Procter & Gamble.
- Brase's pay for fiscal 2027 includes a $1.15 million base salary, a target annual bonus of 150% of salary, and a long-term incentive target of $7.3 million.
- Brase will receive a $200,000 sign-on bonus, a $4.0 million performance-based restricted stock unit grant and a $2.0 million restricted stock unit grant, plus a relocation stipend of up to $500,000.
- Connolly may receive separation benefits if terminated without Cause, contingent on signing a release of claims, and his non-compete applies for one year after employment ends.
The filing
Written by AI (Anthropic Claude, claude-haiku-5-5) on Nov 8, 2026, 12:57 AM ET, from the text of the filing and its press-release exhibits only. Written later: this filing was briefed after the fact, when past filings were added to the site, so the brief may be read with hindsight; the filing itself is the record of what was known on April 13, 2026.
Briefs are written by AI from the filing text (each brief's own page names the model) and can contain mistakes — open the filing before acting on anything. Impact (1-5) and tone are the model's reading of the filing for shareholders, not a price forecast. Not investment advice.