At first glance, Dirk Van de Put and Barack Obama appear to belong to completely different worlds. Van de Put is a global business executive who leads Mondelēz International, one of the world’s major food and snacking companies. Obama, meanwhile, is the 44th president of the United States, a former lawyer, author, and internationally recognized political figure.
There is no documented direct professional partnership between Dirk Van de Put and Barack Obama. However, an interesting connection can be traced through Ertharin Cousin, a prominent leader whose career has included government service, international food policy, humanitarian work, and corporate board leadership.
The connection demonstrates how professional networks can cross boundaries between government, international organizations, and global business.
Dirk Van de Put and Barack Obama Come From Different Professional Worlds
Understanding the connection begins with the careers of the two principal figures.
Dirk Van de Put has built a career in the international food and consumer-products industries. According to Mondelēz International, he became the company’s Chief Executive Officer and joined its board in November 2017. He became Chairman in April 2018. Before joining Mondelēz, he served as President and CEO of McCain Foods from 2011 to 2017. His earlier career included senior positions at Novartis, Danone, Coca-Cola, and Mars.
His professional experience therefore centers on corporate leadership, consumer products, food manufacturing, international markets, and business strategy.
Barack Obama followed a very different path. He became the 44th president of the United States after a career in law and public service. His presidency began in January 2009 and ended in January 2017. During his administration, his government worked with officials and representatives involved in diplomacy, international development, agriculture, food security, and humanitarian affairs.
These different careers explain why a direct connection between Van de Put and Obama is not obvious.
Instead, the link emerges through someone who operated across several of these professional areas: Ertharin Cousin.
Who Is Ertharin Cousin?
Ertharin Cousin has held leadership positions spanning government, international humanitarian organizations, nonprofit institutions, and the corporate world.
Mondelēz International currently describes Cousin as the Founder, President, and CEO of the Food Systems for the Future Institute and a former Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme. The company also notes that she served as the U.S. Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agencies from 2009 to 2012.
Her career is particularly relevant because it overlaps with both sides of the Van de Put–Obama connection.
On one side is the Obama administration, where Cousin served as a U.S. representative to international food and agriculture agencies. On the other is Mondelēz International, where she later joined the company’s board of directors.
That creates an indirect professional bridge between Obama’s administration and the company led by Van de Put.
Barack Obama and Ertharin Cousin
The first part of the connection dates back to 2009.
On June 19, 2009, the Obama White House announced President Obama’s intention to nominate Ertharin Cousin as the U.S. Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, with the rank of ambassador during her tenure.
Cousin subsequently served as the U.S. Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agencies from 2009 to 2012. Her responsibilities placed her in an international environment involving food, agriculture, nutrition, humanitarian affairs, and development.
This position was significant because food and agriculture policy extends far beyond national politics. International organizations, governments, humanitarian groups, agricultural producers, and private companies all operate within the wider global food system.
Cousin’s later career continued in this field. From 2012 to 2017, she served as Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme, according to her Mondelēz biography.
Her work therefore created a substantial career spanning government and international food organizations.
Ertharin Cousin and Mondelēz International
The second part of the connection developed years later.
On November 29, 2021, Mondelēz International announced that Cousin would join its Board of Directors, effective January 1, 2022. The company said her background in food policy and sustainability would contribute expertise to its board and strategic priorities.
At the time, Dirk Van de Put was Chairman and CEO of Mondelēz International. The company’s announcement specifically quoted Van de Put welcoming Cousin to the board and highlighting her knowledge of food policy and sustainability.
This is the clearest documented point connecting Van de Put’s professional world with Cousin’s earlier government career.
Mondelēz’s current board information lists both Dirk Van de Put and Ertharin Cousin among its directors. Van de Put is identified as Chair and CEO, while Cousin is identified as Founder, President and CEO of the Food Systems for the Future Institute and former Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme.
How the Three Careers Connect
The relationship can be understood as a professional chain rather than a direct partnership.
Barack Obama → Ertharin Cousin → Dirk Van de Put
Obama’s connection with Cousin comes from her appointment during his administration. Cousin’s connection with Van de Put comes through her appointment to the Mondelēz International board.
This does not establish that Obama and Van de Put worked together or maintained a professional relationship. Instead, it shows how a person can move through different institutions and create an indirect connection between people from otherwise unrelated professional fields.
The story is particularly interesting because the common thread is food and global leadership.
Food Policy as a Common Theme
Although Obama and Van de Put worked in different sectors, food represents an important area where government and business naturally intersect.
Governments establish policies affecting agriculture, trade, nutrition, food security, sustainability, and economic development. Companies in the food industry operate within those regulatory and economic environments while responding to consumers, investors, suppliers, and international markets.
Cousin’s career has included several of these areas. Her work with the U.S. government involved international food and agriculture agencies, while her later leadership at the World Food Programme focused on humanitarian food assistance. Her corporate board experience brought another dimension to the same broad global food system.
For Mondelēz, Cousin’s experience offered knowledge from outside traditional corporate management. For researchers examining professional networks, her career provides a clear example of how government and corporate leadership can intersect without implying that the institutions themselves share the same objectives.
Dirk Van de Put’s Global Business Career
Van de Put’s career also helps explain why an experienced international food-policy leader could be relevant to a global food company.
Mondelēz describes Van de Put as a global CEO with decades of experience in the food and consumer packaged goods industries. His previous positions at McCain Foods, Novartis, Danone, Coca-Cola, and Mars gave him experience across multiple international markets and business categories.
At Mondelēz, his role extends beyond a single national market. The company operates internationally and owns well-known snack brands across categories such as chocolate, biscuits, and other packaged foods.
That international scope makes issues involving sustainability, food systems, public policy, and global development relevant to the company’s broader environment.
Barack Obama’s Broader Legacy of International Engagement
Obama’s presidency also provides context for why figures such as Cousin were involved in international institutions.
His administration made appointments across diplomacy, international organizations, agriculture, development, and humanitarian affairs. Cousin’s appointment in 2009 placed her specifically within the international food and agriculture system.
Importantly, the available documentation establishes the appointment and subsequent careers, but it does not establish a direct working relationship between Obama and Van de Put.
That distinction matters when discussing public figures whose professional networks overlap indirectly.
Why the Connection Is Interesting
The story of Dirk Van de Put and Barack Obama is ultimately less about a direct relationship and more about the movement of leadership experience across institutions.
Van de Put represents international corporate leadership in the food and consumer-products sector. Obama represents American political leadership and public service. Cousin occupies a unique position between these worlds, having worked in government, international humanitarian organizations, nonprofit leadership, and corporate governance.
Her career illustrates how senior professionals can carry expertise from one institution to another.
The connection also shows why professional networks can sometimes be more complicated than they initially appear. Two prominent figures may have no documented partnership while still sharing a meaningful connection through a third person.
Conclusion
Dirk Van de Put and Barack Obama come from distinctly different professional backgrounds, and there is no documented direct professional partnership between them.
The indirect connection is Ertharin Cousin. Obama announced her nomination in 2009 as the U.S. Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture. Cousin later became Executive Director of the United Nations World Food Programme before moving into other leadership roles.
In 2021, Mondelēz International announced her appointment to its Board of Directors, effective January 1, 2022, during Van de Put’s tenure as Chairman and CEO.
Taken together, these documented career milestones create an intriguing professional link: Barack Obama and Dirk Van de Put are connected indirectly through Ertharin Cousin, whose career has crossed government, international food organizations, and corporate leadership.
Rather than suggesting a direct relationship between Obama and Van de Put, the connection is best understood as an example of how global professional networks can bring together people from politics, humanitarian affairs, food policy, and international business.
FAQs
Who is Dirk Van de Put?
Dirk Van de Put is a Belgian business executive and the Chairman and CEO of Mondelēz International, a global food and snacking company.
Who is Barack Obama?
Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States. Before and after his presidency, he has been involved in law, public service, writing, and philanthropic initiatives.
Are Dirk Van de Put and Barack Obama directly connected?
There is no documented direct professional partnership between Dirk Van de Put and Barack Obama. Their connection is indirect through Ertharin Cousin.
Who is Ertharin Cousin?
Ertharin Cousin is a global food-policy and humanitarian leader who previously served as the U.S. Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Agencies and later led the United Nations World Food Programme.
How is Ertharin Cousin connected to Barack Obama?
In 2009, President Barack Obama announced Cousin’s nomination to serve as the U.S. Representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture.
How is Ertharin Cousin connected to Dirk Van de Put?
Mondelēz International appointed Ertharin Cousin to its Board of Directors effective January 1, 2022, during Dirk Van de Put’s tenure as Chairman and CEO.
What connects the careers of Obama, Cousin, and Van de Put?
Their indirect connection involves global food policy, international organizations, government service, humanitarian work, and the international food industry.
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