Mars, Inc. President Paul S. Michaels to retire

Paul S. Michaels, President of Mars, Incorporated since 2004, has informed the Mars Board of Directors of his plan to retire on December 31, 2014. The company announced that Grant F. Reid, current Global President of Mars Chocolate, has been named by the Mars Board of Directors to take over the Office of the President on January 2, 2015.

"In his almost 11 years at the helm of Mars, Incorporated, Paul has overseen a period of outstanding business performance and tremendous achievement. He also built up the talent of the company while strengthening the visible presence of our Five Principles -- Quality, Efficiency, Responsibility, Mutuality and Freedom -- in the way we operate," said Victoria B. Mars, Chairman of the Mars Board of Directors. "It's because of his focus on nurturing leaders who are both talented and principled, that we have such a strong internal successor in the business. We are proud and excited that Grant, a 26-year veteran of the business, and a member of the Mars Leadership Team since 2007, will be our next President."

As Global President of Mars Chocolate, one of Mars' biggest business segments, Grant leads more than 17,000 Associates. The Chocolate portfolio has some of the world's best-loved consumer brands including M&M'S®, SNICKERS®, DOVE®, GALAXY®, and TWIX®. In the last five years, Grant has successfully led the Chocolate business to deliver consistent growth in mature and emerging markets, and built an excellent and diverse team of leaders. In addition, he has been a champion of industry efforts to collaborate on the issue of cocoa sustainability. In particular, he has grown the Mars' Sustainable Cocoa Initiative. Grant will step into a Co-Office of the President role effective July 2. He'll then have the time to partner with Paul on transition plans before taking on the role President of Mars formally in January 2015.

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