Dirk Van de Put and Barack Obama have no publicly documented personal relationship or direct professional partnership. The verifiable link between them runs through Ertharin Cousin: Obama nominated her for a U.S. ambassadorial role in 2009, and Mondelēz International appointed her to its board in 2021, while Van de Put was the company’s chairman and CEO. That is an institutional connection through a board member—not evidence that Van de Put and Obama worked together.
The connection runs through Ertharin Cousin
In June 2009, President Obama announced Ertharin Cousin as his nominee for U.S. representative to the United Nations agencies for food and agriculture, with the rank of ambassador. She later served as executive director of the UN World Food Programme from 2012 to 2017. The Obama White House announcement documents the nomination.
Years later, Mondelēz International appointed Cousin to its board of directors, effective January 1, 2022. In announcing the appointment in November 2021, the company identified Van de Put as its chairman and CEO. He welcomed Cousin to the board and pointed to her experience in food policy and sustainability. The company’s announcement records both the appointment and Van de Put’s role.
What the link does—and does not—show
The documented chain is straightforward: Obama nominated Cousin to a diplomatic post; Mondelēz later appointed her to its board; and Van de Put, then the company’s chairman and CEO, publicly welcomed her appointment.
That establishes an indirect institutional connection. It does not establish that Van de Put and Obama met, communicated, collaborated, or shared a political or business relationship. The sources cited here document the connection through Cousin, but do not show a direct tie between the two men.
Who is Dirk Van de Put?
Van de Put is a Belgian business executive who became CEO of Mondelēz International in November 2017 and chairman in April 2018, according to the company’s leadership biography. Before joining Mondelēz, he led McCain Foods and held senior roles at Novartis, Danone, Coca-Cola, and Mars.
Obama, by contrast, served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. The shared point in their public records is Cousin’s work across government and the food sector—not a known partnership between the former president and the business executive.