Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2023: POUL WEIHRAUCH

PRESIDENT AND CEO, MARS, McLEAN

Published August 30, 2023 by Virginia Business

Since taking over the reins at the candy and pet food giant in September 2022, Weihrauch has set a goal of doubling its sales by 2033. With $45 billion in sales in 2022, Mars is the largest privately held company in Virginia and the fourth largest in the nation. It has approximately 140,000 employees in
80 countries.

Weihrauch joined Mars in 2000 as European brand leader for Snickers candy bars, and worked his way up the corporate ladder, becoming president of food and multisales and then president of Mars’ global pet care brand. He previously worked for Nestlé in sales and marketing and started his career at Stimorol Chewing Gum in his home country, Denmark. Mars expects to almost triple its spending on a comprehensive sustainability agenda, he said, calling political attacks on corporate social responsibility and environmental priorities “nonsense.”

Weihrauch earned a degree in business economics and an MBA from Aalborg University in Denmark. He also holds a master’s degree in international marketing from Strathclyde Business School in Scotland.

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