Mars merger to go ahead with new boss

Mars has ended uncertainty over the merger of its European Petcare and Main Meal food businesses by appointing a new president for the operation.

There had been fears that merger plans would be delayed because of Mars’ struggle to find a successor for president Tony Hallatt who died in a car accident on July 21 (MW last week). But Mars took only ten days to appoint Dick Raper, its regional

president for the countries of the former Soviet Union.

Raper started his career at Mars Confectionery in Slough twenty years ago. He takes over as president immediately and a Mars spokesman says merger plans will now go ahead unchanged. “Mars has clearly been saddened tremendously. But the foundations were already laid and our management team is a strong one,” he says.

The merger will result in just “a handful” of redundancies across Mars’ 5,500 European staff, he adds. The senior management team for the merged business has also been confirmed. It includes John Dale as vice-president for the UK and Ireland.