Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company names Dushan Petrovich as President

The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company has named Dushan (Duke) Petrovich as President, effective immediately. Petrovich has been with Wrigley for more than 30 years and will be responsible for the company’s worldwide strategy, operations and business performance. New president is a Chicago native who began his career in the company s finance department and later served as controller and treasurer. He has served the last five years as senior vice president and chief administrative officer. Petrovich graduated from Knox College in Galesburg with a degree in economics and has a master s degree in accounting science from Roosevelt University. In his new role, Petrovich will continue to work closely with company Chairman Bill Wrigley, Jr., and both will report to Paul S. Michaels, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mars, Inc. The Wrigley Company was acquired and became a subsidiary of privately held Mars on Oct. 6 2008.


A native of the Wrigley Company’s hometown of Chicago, Mr. Petrovich began his career in the Wrigley finance department and later served as Vice President, Corporate Controller and Vice President, Corporate Treasurer. In his most recent role as Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, Mr. Petrovich has been responsible for many of the company’s vital functions, including global supply chain, global procurement, information technology, People, Learning and Development (the company’s human resources organization), corporate communications and global real estate. He also has responsibilities for commercial operations in Latin America.


“Duke has played an important role in the transformation and ongoing growth of Wrigley throughout the years,” said Bill Wrigley, Jr. “He has served on our Executive Leadership Team for more than 10 years, and has proven himself to be a strong and visionary leader. Given his experience, combined with his ability to respect the company’s heritage while remaining focused on our future, Duke is theright leader at the right time for our company.”


Commenting on the appointment, Paul S. Michaels said: “The combination of Duke’s deep-seated understanding of Wrigley’s operations, respect among the company’s associates, and financial expertise makes him the ideal person to connect Wrigley into the Mars organization and build future growth for the business.”


William D. Perez, who previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Wrigley, will support the company in an advisory capacity through the end of 2008. “It has been a pleasure to work with Bill Wrigley, Jr. and the great team of people here at Wrigley to help drive growth and success for our brands, and I wish the combined organization nothing but success in the future.” Bill Wrigley, Jr., commented, “Over the last two years, Bill Perez helped us grow profitably, build brands and improve our discipline and focus as a public company. We appreciate the important contributions he has made to our company and our people.”