Mars Leadership Succession: Grant F. Reid decides to hand over the reins as CEO

Mars, Incorporated

PR96639

 

Mars Leadership Succession: Grant F. Reid decides to hand over the reins as CEO after driving nearly a decade of unprecedented growth, impact and transformation. Poul Weihrauch to take on role from end of September.

 

MCLEAN, Va., June 22, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

 

  --Mars CEO Grant F. Reid has taken the decision to retire from Mars after

more

    than 8 years in the role & 34 years in the business. Under his leadership,

    Mars has seen unprecedented growth & transformation combined with a focus

on

    sustainability and purpose, and significant expansion into newer areas

    including veterinary health services.

  --Poul Weihrauch, current Global President at Mars Petcare, will succeed as

    CEO from the end of September.

  --Reid, who will remain with Mars until the end of the year, informed the

    Board of his decision to leave 18 months ago and has worked with the Board

    to ensure a smooth and orderly succession.

  --Mars Board Chair, Frank Mars paid tribute to Reid's "extraordinary" legacy,

    heralding his leadership on climate action & sustainability on the global

    stage.

 

Mars Chief Executive Officer, Grant F. Reid, has announced he is to hand over

the reins as CEO after leading the business through a period of unprecedented

growth, impact and transformation.

 

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1844697/MARS_GrantReid.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1844698/MARS_PoulWeihrauch.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/74984/mars__incorporated_logo.jpg

 

Reid – who will remain at Mars until the end of the year – informed the Board

of his intentions to retire from Mars 18 months ago and has been closely

involved in helping ensure a best-in-class succession. He has served in the

role since 2014. Poul Weihrauch, Global President at Mars Petcare, will succeed

as CEO, effective from the end of September.

 

Mars Board Chair, Frank Mars, paid tribute to Reid's "extraordinary legacy" –

highlighting his countless achievements – fusing performance with purpose,

delivering sustainable growth, ramping up Mars digital capabilities, building

its iconic brands, and expanding into newer territories like veterinary health,

pet services and healthy snacking. As a result, Mars said, sales had grown by

over 50% to nearly $45B under Reid's tenure and the number of Associates had

increased from 60,000 to more than 140,000.

 

Frank Mars added: "While he is too modest to admit it, our significant

transformation and record growth as a business would not have happened without

Grant's leadership. He has visibly lived our principles and embedded purpose at

the heart of our business strategy. The Mars Family are tremendously grateful

for his dedication and service.

 

"He has been a tower of strength, helping us charter new courses and pushing us

beyond what we thought possible. He's represented Mars on the global stage,

particularly around climate change, and he has ensured that we are known for

acting, not just making commitments.

 

"We will greatly miss his principled leadership, his highly collaborative and

engaging style and – not least – his dry Scottish sense of humor."

 

A Powerful Legacy

 

Reid said: "It has been a privilege to lead the Mars team and work closely with

the Mars Family. We have built on our core strengths and moved into new areas,

setting the business up for a brilliant, sustainable future. But the biggest

difference we make starts with our 140,000 Associates, the hundreds of

communities we operate in, and the billions of consumers we serve. I'm proud

that, in the face of challenges such as a global pandemic, we have never lost

sight of our strategic path or our ambition to help create the world we want

tomorrow – and to drive both purpose and performance. Whether that be

challenging ourselves to deliver a truly net zero supply chain, ensuring our

most impactful raw materials like palm are deforestation-free, or innovating

with packaging solutions to help ensure our products do not turn up as waste."

 

He added: "Having worked closely with Poul for many years I consider him and

his family to be close friends. I am very excited about the future of the

business under his leadership and congratulate him on his appointment as CEO of

this incredible company."                                  

 

Reid and Weihrauch have been working together closely for several months to

ensure a smooth and orderly succession that maintains the considerable business

momentum. Reid will continue to represent Mars until the end of 2022, including

at critical events such as UNGA/Climate Week, COP27 and more.

 

From next year onwards, Reid will devote more time to following his passion as

a champion for climate action, the sustainability agenda, and the broader role

for business in society.

 

Mars Next Chapter

 

Poul Weihrauch will succeed Reid from the end of September. He has worked in

many parts of the business since joining in 2000 as European brand leader for

Snickers. Having led the Mars Food business, he became President of Global

Petcare in 2014 and, during that time, has overseen significant growth and

diversification into veterinary health, diagnostics, data, and platforms,

doubling the size of the business. Weihrauch has also driven significant focus

and investment into the Petcare sustainability agenda.

 

Frank Mars said: "I have known Poul for 22 years, working closely with him for

the last 10, and I know that he will be a wonderful leader for the next stage

of our evolution.

 

"He is known for his inspirational and inclusive leadership style, for growing

businesses and renovating brands and for his deep commitment to Associate

engagement and development. Following Grant's decision, the Board and I are

grateful to be able to appoint such a strong Mars leader and are confident that

Poul will both protect our legacy, while leading us into what promises to be a

bright and exciting future."

 

Weihrauch said: "I am honored and humbled by this opportunity to serve the

organization and our 140,000 Mars Associates. This is an incredible company

which has consistently demonstrated that doing good is good business. It is

that relationship that will ensure we keep delivering sustainable growth and

performance.  

 

"We live in challenging times but I'm an optimist and I believe in the power of

business to have a positive impact and, in particular, the freedom we have at

Mars to do the right thing for our Associates and the world we operate in."

 

He added: "I thank Grant for his friendship, counsel, and collaboration over

the years, and I congratulate him on his exceptional career at Mars. Many

thanks to the Board of Directors as well for entrusting me to lead the next

chapter in our evolution and growth."

 

As a result of Weihrauch's appointment, Mars today announced a series of

subsequent senior appointments. Loic Moutault, President at Royal Canin, is to

become Mars Global Petcare President, and Cecile Coutens will take over as

Global Royal Canin President.

 

About Mars, Incorporated

 

For more than a century, Mars, Incorporated has been driven by the belief that

the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. This common

purpose unites our 140,000+ Associates. It is at the center of who we are as a

global, family-owned business, and it fuels how we are transforming,

innovating, and evolving to make a positive impact on the world.

 

Every year, our diverse and expanding portfolio of quality confectionery, food,

and pet care products and services delight millions of people and supports

millions of pets. With almost $45 billion in annual sales, we produce some of

the world's best-loved brands including Ben's Original(TM), CESAR(R),

Cocoavia(R), DOVE(R), EXTRA(R), KIND(R), M&M's(R), SNICKERS(R), PEDIGREE(R),

ROYAL CANIN(R), and WHISKAS(R).  We are creating a better world for pets  

through nutrition, breakthrough programs in diagnostics, wearable health

monitoring, DNA testing, pet welfare and comprehensive veterinary care with

AniCura, BANFIELD(TM), BLUEPEARL(TM), Linnaeus and VCA(TM).

 

We know we can only be truly successful if our partners and the communities in

which we operate prosper. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility,

Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire our Associates to act every day to

help create a better world tomorrow in which the planet, its people and pets

can thrive.

 

For more information about Mars, please visit www.mars.com. Join us on Facebook

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CONTACT: Press Inquiries: MarsMediaRelations@effem.com

 

SOURCE  Mars, Incorporated

 

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