Mars Appoints New CEO For KIND

Mars has promoted Daniel Calderoni, a manager within its pet nutrition division, to be the new CEO of KIND Snacks North America.

Calderoni has served as the GM for Mars Pet Nutrition in Canada since November 2022, prior to which he worked in Emerging Markets and Mars’ Southern Cone for Petcare and Confectionery segments. In his new role, he will report to Mars Snacking global president of health and wellness Blas Maquivar.

Mars’ internal leadership restructuring comes at a time where the multinational food business is moving deeper into snacking. Last month, the company, headquartered in McLean, Va., announced its plans to acquire Kellanova in a nearly $36 billion deal that would position Mars as one of the biggest snack businesses in the world.

The company took an interest in KIND Snacking initially in 2017, taking a minority stake in the business and following that with a full acquisition in 2020. Building from there, Mars has added indulgent frozen treat brand Trü Frü in December 2022 and refrigerated meal company Kevin’s Natural Foods in the back half of 2023.

KIND Snacks founder Daniel Lubetzky left the leadership role in late 2019 and was eventually succeeded by Russell Stokes in April 2021.