Mars Wrigley India exemplifies inclusion and diversity with five key appointments

Mumbai: In a significant move demonstrating its ambitious focus on inclusion and diversity and continued investment in the talent pool in India, Mars Wrigley on Thursday announced the appointment of three new women executives in its India Leadership Team and chose two executives from India to take up global roles critical to the company’s growth strategy.  

Richa Singh, Sunita Patnaik, and Shahine Ardeshir have joined Mars Wrigley India Leadership Team as chief financial officer (CFO), director - corporate affairs, and director - people and organization (P&O) India, respectively, while Chirag Shah has been elevated as CFO of Nature’s Bakery, a Mars business in the US, and Hegeler Solomon promoted to director of people and organisation, Mars Wrigley Asia.

“Fostering talent and building capability remain a cornerstone of Mars Wrigley and we are highly intentional in finding the best talent, building the right capabilities and creating an environment of inclusion and diversity," said Mars Wrigley India, general manager, Kalpesh R Parmar. "This is instrumental to our ability to deliver our growth legacy and navigate the challenges as well as capitalize on the opportunities that lay ahead as we remain steadfast on our long-term commitment to India. Aligned with this, I am pleased to welcome  Richa, Sunita and Shahine to Mars Wrigley India’s leadership team. These appointments advance our commitment to bringing on board strong women leaders to position us well in our journey of purpose-led growth."

"Equally, I am very excited that Chirag Shah and Hegeler Solomon have been elevated to lead global positions within Mars. Both of them have been strong architects in India’s growth story for Mars Wrigley and have made a significant contribution to the business. I am very proud of this move as it is a strong testament of our ability to nurture and export world-class talent from India for the company globally. Their unique experiences in a diverse and fastest-growing market like India will help shape and contribute to the transformative growth strategy of the company across the markets. I wish all of them the very best as they begin their new assignments," Parmar added.

Richa Singh comes with a global experience of over two decades across consumer durables and FMCG companies, leading business accelerations and transformations, process optimisations, among others. She joins from Niine Pvt Ltd, a start up in feminine hygiene that she led for three years. Prior to Niine, she worked in Philips Healthcare@Home, Philips Consumer, J&J Medical ASEAN, Coca-Cola, and P&G across India, ASEAN, Australia, and Japan. Richa replaces Chirag Shah.

Sunita Patnaik comes with nearly two decades of experience in journalism, corporate affairs, communications, CSR, and Sustainability. Sunita joins from Facebook India where she led content and programs policy communications. Prior to Facebook, Sunita was associated with Walmart India and Cargill India. In her current role, Sunita will be responsible for leading government relations, corporate communications, PR, and advocacy efforts across all Mars Wrigley India brands and verticals.  

Shahine Ardeshir comes with a wealth of experience, a large part of it from within the company, having joined Mars in 2012. She has held a number of key roles within the leadership team, including most recently as Associate Relations (AR) Lead for the segment across India, Middle East and South Africa. She played an integral part in launching and stabilising AR operations of the new People and Organization operating model, across a diverse region, supporting all segments including Mars Wrigley, Pet Nutrition, and Royal Canin. Shahine replaces Hegeler Solomon.

Richa, Sunita, and Shahine will be based in Gurugram.  

Chirag Shah joined the company in 2016 as CFO for the erstwhile Mars Chocolate segment in India. He was later appointed as Finance Director for the Mars Wrigley integrated business in 2017 in India. Shah will be relocating to the US shortly.

Hegeler  Solomon joined Mars in May 2014 as People and Organization Business Partner for the erstwhile Wrigley segment and subsequently moved as director – people and organization for Wrigley South Asia. Later he was appointed as director – people and organisation for the combined Mars Wrigley unit in India. During this stint, Solomon played the lead role in integrating the structure of the two different organisations and created an enabling culture that helped the company secure a ‘Great Place to Work’ status in India. Solomon will transition to his new role in September.