Mark Smucker’s recipe for leading a $13B family business

The J.M. Smucker Company (SJM), commonly known as Smucker, was founded by Jerome Monroe Smucker in 1897 as a small apple cider and butter business. The company has only ever been led by a CEO with the last name Smucker, including its current CEO, Mark Smucker—Jerome Monroe’s great-great grandson.

Smucker took over in 2016, coming off a stretch where the company multiplied and diversified its business model, largely through the acquisition of major brands like Jif and Folgers. Now competing for shelf space against other major consumer packaged goods companies like Nestlé (NSRGY), General Mills (GIS), and Kraft-Heinz (KHC), Smucker is following a similar playbook, acquiring sweet-baked snacks giant Hostess for $5.6B in 2023.

Smucker sat down with Yahoo Finance’s Brad Smith in Smucker’s home town of Orrville, Ohio, to share how he deals with the pressure of leading an American institution that is also his family’s 127-year-old business.

For more the full conversation with Smucker, tune into Yahoo Finance Live at 11:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, Sept. 12. For more of our Lead This Way series, click here, and tune in to Yahoo Finance Live for more expert insight and the latest market action, Monday through Friday.

Editor's note: This article was written by Luke Brooks.