USA – The World leader in confections, Mars Wrigley has named its Chief Marketing & Customer Officer Andrew Clarke as new global president to lead its candy business, Mars Wrigley Confectionery.

Clarke succeeds Martin Radvan, will be based at Mars Wrigley Confectionery’s global headquarters in Chicago, Illinois with the appointment effective September 2018.

Martin is retiring from the company after 32-year career at Mars in various capabilities, business segments and countries.

It was during his tenure that the firm saw the successful integration of Mars Chocolate and Wrigley segments into Mars Wrigley Confectionery, one of the world’s leading manufacturer of chocolate, chewing gum, mints, and fruity confections.

As Chief Marketing & Customer Officer, he was in charge of the confectioner’s marketing and sales capabilities ranging from development of an integrated strategy to a focus on customer needs and concerns.

Clarke joined Mars in the U.K. in 2000 as Category Leadership Director for Mars Chocolate and served in various leadership and management roles across the Chocolate, Petcare and Food segments.

He also led geographic operations at country level in the U.K. and Ireland and was Regional President for Petcare in Latin America from 2011 to 2014.

Andrew is the right person to lead Mars Wrigley Confectionery into its next chapter. His track record for driving ambitious change while delivering results is the fuel our business needs to thrive in an ever changing consumer and retail landscape,” said Grant F. Reid, CEO of Mars, Incorporated.

“Andrew brings great global perspective, combined with a principled approach to leadership and passion for engaging and inspiring teams.”

Commenting on his role, Andrew said, “I am delighted to have the opportunity to lead this iconic business with some of the world’s most loved brands and to drive growth with our talented associates, customers and partners.”

Based on its annual reports, Mars makes more than US$35 billion in net sales globally with 90% of it coming from Petcare and its largest segment.

According to Euromonitor data, Mars Wrigley Confectionery, a business unit of Mars, is the largest candy company in the U.S. and globally in terms of retail market share.

Last year, the company announced it was relocating its U.S. headquarters at two sites in New Jersey, instead of Chicago and meanwhile, Mars Food opened its North American headquarters on Goose Island last year.