Mars Leadership Succession: Grant F. Reid decides to hand over the reins as CEO
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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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),Twitter (
),Instagram (
),LinkedIn(
YouTube(
).
CONTACT: Press Inquiries: MarsMediaRelations@effem.com
SOURCE Mars, Incorporated
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