As part of the overhaul, Kraft North America has merged its strategic marketing activities with those of Kraft International, headed by Holden.
However, local marketing teams will still operate on a country-by-country basis and the company's top UK marketers, Maria Surricchio, Sally Abott and Chris Priest, are unaffected by the change.
Category management of Kraft's five consumer sectors - beverages, snacks, cheese and dairy, convenience meals and grocery - previously handled on a regional level, will now be handled globally under Holden. Her remit is to boost growth and global expansion.
Kraft spokesman Richard Johnson said it was important to adapt global strategies for local consumers. "We have a single strategy for Philadelphia spread, but the products are adapted for local tastes, such as adding salmon for the Spanish market," he said.
Holden's group will boost Kraft's planned growth through new products and will also be responsible for product extensions and promoting marketing excellence throughout the group.
Holden, joint chief executive since 2001, will have overall responsibility for global marketing resources, the company's 'health and wellness' nutritional programme and new product development.
Kraft will increase marketing activity in 2004, although Johnson would not give details. "Last year when we were suffering challenges, particularly in the US, we had a $200m (£111m) injection into our marketing activities.
We are now seeing the fruits of that and these are the types of programmes we'll be considering on a global scale," he said.
Kraft's global sales fell in the past 12 months and it lowered expectations when third-quarter volume growth came in below projections.
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