Mars announces executive promotions

Published September 25, 2014 by Robert Powell, III

McLean-based Mars Inc. has announced several promotions in the wake of a decision by Todd Lachman, the current president of Mars Global Petcare, to leave the company at end of the year.

Lachman  has decided to relocate his family to San Francisco, California. He has been with Mars for eight years, leading the Chocolate North America and Latin America business before moving into the lead role of the petcare business. 

He will be succeeded in January by Poul Weihrauch, currently global president of  Mars Food. Weihrauch joined Mars in 2000 and has worked in multiple categories, including chocolate, Wrigley, food and drinks.

Fiona Dawson, now regional president of Chocolate UK and Global Retail, will become global president, Mars Food with accountability for Mars Drinks and European Multisales.  She began her career at Mars in sales in 1988 as a graduate trainee.  After many years in multisales in Ireland, the Netherlands and Belgium, she became the head of the UK Chocolate business in 2005 and has since also added responsibility of the Mars Retail Group.

Andrew Clarke, now regional president of Petcare for Latin America, will become Mars’ new chief customer officer and a member of the Mars leadership team, effective Feb. 15.  Clarke joined Mars in 2000 in UK Sales and over the next seven years took on increasing responsibility as he moved among the pet specialty, impulse and grocery teams.  Since then, he has taken multiple general manager roles across the business.

Bruce McColl, Mars' chief marketing officer, also is becoming a member of the Mars leadership Team.  He joined Mars in 1992 in Australia as a brand manager.  During the past 22 years in marketing at Mars, he has worked across Mars' business brands, categories and geographies. 

Founded in 1911, privately owned Mars employs more than 75,000 people and had sales of more than $33 billion last year.