Del Monte Foods Co. plans to relocate about 100 marketing and related positions from its 500-employee North Shore offices to its corporate headquarters in San Francisco.

The company, which sells canned fruits and vegetables, tuna and pet foods, said it will be centralizing all marketing functions in the California offices under the direction of its new chief marketing officer, William D. Pearce. Mr. Pearce had previously served that role for fast food chain Taco Bell.

Del Monte said it expects to save money, beginning in 2010, as a result of centralizing the marketing operations. The shift is expected to be completed in about a year.

An announcement from the company said it would continue to operate a corporate service center in Pittsburgh and continue to provide shared services across the company such as information technology, accounting and payroll.

Management changes also include the planned exits of Apurva Mody, senior vice president of consumer products, and Jeff Watters, senior vice president of pet products. The executives will stay for a transition period.

Del Monte employs about 330 people in San Francisco and a total of 18,000, including seasonal workers, worldwide.