Ex-Mars chief set to head Walkers marketing team

PepsiCo UK has drafted in Mars strategy chief Ian Ellington as vice president of marketing for its Walkers business. He joins from Mars UK, where he has worked for the past 17 years.

The move marks a departure in Pepsico’s strategy of promoting from within.

Ellington replaces Jon Goldstone, who has moved to Premier Foods as marketing director for Hovis. Ellington will report to Walkers general manager Richard Evans and will be responsible for developing the marketing strategy for the entire Walkers range of crisps and snacks, managing a team of 25 marketers in the UK.

He was most recently UK head of strategy. Prior to that, he led the central sales functions department and was responsible for category insights, trade marketing and sales support. He also oversaw Mars’ pricing strategy and promotional evaluation.

In Mars roles, Ellington worked as the UK head of marketing for Bitesize, Boxed and Tablet, and European brand director for Celebrations and Galaxy.
According to Nielsen data, Walkers is the UK’s biggest snack brand, currently reaching 65% of all British households. Walkers Crisps is outperforming the category, with sales of £441m, growing at 7.8% year on year.

The range includes Walkers Crisps, Sensations, Doritos, SunBites, Quavers, Monster Munch and Squares.