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Dive Brief:
- Mars appointed Marina Bellini as president of the company’s Global Business Services organization, the company said Tuesday. Enterprise digital technology oversight will be part of her remit.
- Bellini, a tech and operations executive with over 25 years of experience, joins the candymaker after serving as COO at Brazil-based bank Itaú Unibanco.
- Prior to her experience in the financial services industry, Bellini held tech-focused C-suite positions at PepsiCo, AB InBev and BAT, overseeing digital transformation and data deployment at large organizations.
Dive Insight:
Bellini’s appointment comes a little over two months after Mars — which produces M&M’s, Kind bars and Snickers candy — announced its plans to acquire snack maker Kellanova for a whopping $35.9 billion.
Upon closure of the deal, expected during the first half of 2025, Kellanova will become a part of Mars Snacking. The acquisition marks the largest deal in the food and beverage sector in nearly a decade, according to Food Dive.
Bellini’s background includes leading digital transformation efforts, including the business overhaul of BAT, where she served as chief information and digital officer.
The executive brings to Mars “outstanding experience driving high-impact change across a range of global industries,” said Claus Aagaard, CFO at Mars, in the Tuesday announcement. “I’m confident that she’ll continue to transform our GBS organization into best-in-class operations and services – creating further value for Mars.”
Mars and Kellanova are just two recent examples of consumer goods companies redoubling technology efforts this year.
General Mills rolled out an internal generative AI tool in February to assist employees with daily tasks, improving productivity. Kraft Heinz’ data scientists are developing a data analysis tool powered by Microsoft Azure OpenAI service.
Mars did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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