President flew away from Mars – Kommersant

The American Mars, one of the main manufacturers of confectionery products in the world, has replaced the head of this business in Russia. The place of Maher Batruni, who headed the segment since 2017, was taken by Mikhail Bazanov, ex-head of Mars in Central Asia. Experts do not see fundamental difficulties for the new leader and the company’s business, but note that “at the moment Mars is under political pressure.”

On July 11, Mikhail Bazanov became the president of the Russian division of the American Mars LLC Mars, according to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. In this position, he replaced Maher Batruni, who in 2013-2017 was the CEO of Wrigley in Russia, then headed the combined segment of Mars Wrigley Confectionery and became president of Mars LLC. Mikhail Bazanov, follows from the data in Linkedin, since 2016 led the Mars business in the countries of Central Asia, the Caucasus, Belarus and Turkey, headquartered in Kazakhstan.

The Russian Mars told Kommersant that as part of the talent development and succession process, Maher Batruni moved to a new role within the company, and Mikhail Bazanov became the CEO of Mars Wrigley Russia and one of the two presidents of Mars LLC. Since 2015, the post of the second president has been occupied by Valery Shchapov, who manages Mars Petcare in Russia. According to Linkedin, Mr Batrouni is now a vice president of Mars based in Dubai.

Mars is one of the major confectionery, food and pet food manufacturers in the world. Brand portfolio includes Mars, Snickers, Milky Way, Bounty, Twix, Skittles, M&M’s, Orbit, Pedigree, Whiskas. In Russia, he manages ten factories. In 2022, the revenue of Mars LLC increased by 13.5%, to 176.5 billion rubles, net profit was 27.2 billion rubles.

Partner of Kontakt InterSearch Russia Galina Spasenova says that for multinational companies, rotation of personnel among departments is typical, as well as positions are closed by an internal reserve. “It’s more of a pattern, not related to external events,” she says. According to Ms. Spasenova, the main challenges for the new president will be in building relationships with local top management, as well as in establishing business contacts with key partners in the country. Mikhail Bazanov previously worked at the Russian Mars, so his adaptation should be quick and painless, the expert adds.

Alexey Popovichev, Executive Director of Rusbrand, says that the main difficulties that a new leader could have in the Russian market were overcome by local players in 2022. This is the restructuring of logistics, the search for new channels for the supply of raw materials, etc., he points out. Mars, for example, reduced the range of Orbit due to problems with ingredients and logistical changes (see Kommersant dated July 22, 2022).

Mars after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine announced a halt to advertising, new investments, and exports from Russia. But after February 2022, Russian products in any case became less competitive in many foreign markets due to higher logistics costs, Kommersant’s source notes. And in the Russian market, the positions of the largest confectionery manufacturers are strengthening, despite the opportunities that have opened up for small players, NielsenIQ noted. According to analysts, in 2022, the five largest companies increased sales by 19.2% in offline retail compared to growth of 9.3% a year earlier.

Last Friday, TASS reported that the prosecutor’s office of the Moscow region began checking the Russian division of Mars for funding the Ukrainian army and compliance with the taxes paid. On Wednesday, the department did not answer Kommersant’s questions. A Kommersant source close to Mars says that the company’s division continues to work in Russia as usual in full compliance with the law.

Anatoly Kostyrev