Diversified bakery, meat and prepared foods giantSara Lee Corp., Downers Grove, Ill., said it hiredMarcel H.M. Smitsas executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective Oct. 1, 2009.

Smits, 48, will oversee Sara Lee's accounting, tax, treasury, procurement and information technology departments. He will report to Chairman & CEO Brenda Barnes.

He joins Sara Lee from Dutch telecom leader Koninklijke KPN NV, where he served as chief financial officer and a member of the management board. He also has I.T., financial and management experience from previous posts at Vendex KBB and Unilever NV.

"Marcel brings great finance leadership and international expertise and we're delighted to have him join our team," said Barnes. "He's a seasoned professional with broad experience in consumer packaged goods and retail and we expect him to quickly contribute to our finance operations and global business strategy."