How does a more than 100-year-old family-owned business continue to evolve and grow across generations to become one of the largest privately held companies in the world? On today’s Redefiners episode, Clarke and Marla are joined by Valerie Mars, former Senior Vice President & Head of Corporate Development for Mars, Incorporated, to talk about how the Mars family grew a small kitchen-table candy company into a $55 billion diversified global food and pet care enterprise. 

Valerie talks about the family’s decision to bring in a non-family CEO, how the Five Principles and Mars Compass are used to guide decision-making and nurture a values-driven culture, and what they’re doing to develop the next generation of family leaders. 

We’ll also hear from Anuradha Chawla, a leadership advisor in our Toronto office, who will explore when family enterprises should consider introducing non-family management.

Four things you’ll learn from this episode: 

1. The business and cultural impact of bringing in a non-family CEO to a family-owned enterprise 
2. The key traits that make a successful non-family CEO 
3. Mars’ Five Principles and the Mars Compass and how they’ve helped guide the company through growth and change 
4. How to develop future next generation leaders and how to deal with family succession tensions that may arise  

If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like these Redefiners episodes: 

• Leading with a North Star: Former Decathlon CEO Barbara Martin Coppola's Blueprint for Bold Change 
• Leadership Lounge: How can family enterprise leaders stay ahead in a fast-changing world? 
• From Chaos to Clarity: How Bain Capital’s John Connaughton Leads Through Volatility 
• Leadership Lounge: The Art of Succession: How to Identify Tomorrow's Leaders Today 
• Paws, Purpose & Profit: A Conversation with Pets at Home CEO Lyssa McGowan 
• Leadership Lounge: Built to Last or Built to Learn: How Leaders Can Develop Resilience