Pros

Relatively small company, but with well-known brands (Ketchup... obviously, but also Ore-Ida, Weight Watchers Smart Ones, Classico Pasta Sauce, just to name a few). Very well respected in the community. And most importantly, great people. They do a great job of picking top talent from other top companies like P&G, Kraft, and General Mills (most companies pluck away the dead weight from these top companies... Heinz is able to lure away some of the good ones).

Cons

Pittsburgh is a tough town to adjust to. It's a great city for it's size, but most people that live there were born and raised there, so it can be tough to meet folks. Location aside, Heinz still invests very little in marketing support behind its brands as compared to the industry. It varies by brand, but if you're a marketing person, you'll likely do little marketing at Heinz. But you will get some great general management experience. Finally, Heinz is an extremely risk-averse company, testing everything to the Nth degree before making a decision. When a decision is made, it's usually a good one because it's supported with so much data. And you'll get some great research experience if you're involved in that end. But it can get frustrating at times.

Advice to Senior Management

Support your brands. Even Heinz Ketchup will one day lose relevance without marketing support. And by the time you realized you've lost relevance, it will be difficult to ever get it back.