CHICAGO -- The Wm. J. Wrigley Jr. Co is eliminating its North American chief marketing officer position. The gum giant confirmed that Brian Hansberry, the company's CMO and vice president of category teams since January 2012, is leaving the company, reported Advertising Age.
Before arriving at Wrigley, Hansberry was CMO and group vice president for Pittsburgh-based H.J. Heinz Co. for 11 years and marketing director for Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble for 10 years.
"We made the difficult decision to eliminate the CMO position for our North America business to create efficiencies. It is not a decision we took lightly, and we value the contributions Brian Hansberry has made to our organization," Wrigley spokesperson Caroline M. Sherman, said in a statement provided to CSP Daily News.
She told Ad Age that marketing would be overseen by Casey Keller, Wrigley North America president, "along with our category leads."
Keller joined Chicago-based Wrigley in 2011 after serving as president of the U.S. business of Melrose Park, Ill.-based Alberto Culver, said the report. Previously, he held senior roles with Schaumburg, Ill.-based Motorola, Heinz and Procter & Gamble.
Wrigley, which operates as a subsidiary of Mars Inc., is a leader in confections with a wide range of product offerings including gum, mints, hard and chewy candies and lollipops. Its brands include Wrigley's Spearmint, Juicy Fruit, Extra, Orbit, Doublemint and 5 chewing gums, as well as confectionery brands Skittles, Starburst, Altoids and Life Savers.
McLean, Va. Mars is a $30-billion, family-owned company that produces some of the world's leading confectionery, food and petcare products and has growing beverage and health and nutrition businesses. It has net sales of more than $30 billion and six business segments including Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks and Symbioscience. Mars brands include Chocolate: M&M's, Snickers, Dove, Galaxy, Mars, Milky Way and Twix; Petcare: Pedigree, Whiskas, Sheba, Cesar and Royal Canin; Wrigley: Orbit, Extra, Starburst, Doublemint and Skittles; Food: Uncle Ben's, Dolmio, Ebly, Masterfoods and Seeds of Change; Drinks: Alterra Coffee Roasters, The Bright Tea Co., Klix and Flavia; and Symbioscience: Seramis, Cirku and Cocoavia.
Click here to view the full Ad Age report.
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