Kellogg Foundation Names Vice President for Communications

BATTLE CREEK, Mich., March 23, 2009 — The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has announced the selection of Joanne Kogan Krell of Pleasant Ridge, Michigan, as vice president for communications and an officer of the Foundation.

Krell, who will join the Foundation on May 1, is currently a director of communications at the General Motors Corporation.

“We are very pleased that Joanne will join the Foundation’s leadership team. She is a successful communications executive with a strong background in issue management, media relations, product and brand communications, strategic planning, and financial and crisis management,” said Sterling K. Speirn, the Foundation’s president and chief executive officer.

Krell joined General Motors in 1997 as manager of strategic communications, and subsequently managed media relations, corporate brand communications, and energy and environment communications for the giant automaker. In 2005, she became director of corporate communications for GMAC Financial Services and later director of communications for global issues management. In 2007, she became director of communications for the company’s premium brands – Cadillac, Hummer and Saab USA.

Prior to her time at GM, Krell held communication and public relations positions at the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in Detroit, Michigan; The Widmeyer Group in Washington, D.C.; the Air Line Pilots Association in Washington, D.C.; and the American Federation of Teachers; in Washington, D.C.

“We’re very pleased with the range of non-profit, management and executive experiences that Joanne brings to the Kellogg Foundation,” said James McHale, senior vice president for programs. “Her expertise will be very valuable to us as we plan and implement our future communication strategies and expand our efforts on behalf of vulnerable children.”

Krell was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. She earned her master’s degree in advertising and marketing at Michigan State University and her bachelor’s degree in government and politics at the University of Maryland in College Park.

Established in 1930, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation supports children, families and communities as they strengthen and create conditions that propel vulnerable children to achieve success as individuals and as contributors to the larger community and society. Grants are concentrated in the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean, and southern Africa.