Mars Wrigley appointed Cathryn Sleight as president of Business Development, effective from 5 August 2019. In this role, Sleight will lead the segment’s Business Development team to pursue new global treating and snacking growth opportunities. She will report to Mars Wrigley global president – Andrew Clarke. Sleight replaces Keith Levy, who departed the business in May.
Sleight joins Mars Wrigley from Unilever in the UK, where she spent the last nine years in their global food category business and successfully developed and executed a global brand renovation and innovation agenda. She led strategies to identify M&A and new growth opportunities and was part of the team which acquired Mae Terra, a Brazilian organic food brand; Sir Kensington’s, a US condiments company; and The Vegetarian Butcher, a Dutch-based chilled soy-meat replacement producer. Prior to Unilever, Sleight had 20-plus-year marketing career at various food and beverage companies, including The Coca-Cola Company, Allied Domecq, Britvic Soft Drinks, McVitie’s and Eden Vale.
“Cathryn brings great experience to Mars Wrigley and will help us further expand our portfolio,” said Andrew Clarke, global president of Mars Wrigley. “Her strong track record of identifying emerging brands with significant potential for global scale will help us further diversify and grow.”
Talking about her new role, Sleight commented, “I am delighted to join Mars Wrigley to help identify and deliver new opportunities to grow this iconic business with some of the world’s best-loved brands. It’s an exciting time to work in a vibrant, growing category that consumers love and to help lead an agenda to bring more smiles to consumers in new ways.”
