Victoria B. Mars
Victoria B. Mars | |
---|---|
![]() Mars, 2013 | |
Born | 1956/1957 (age 64–65)[1] |
Education | Foxcroft School |
Alma mater | Yale University (BA) The Wharton School (MBA) |
Occupation | Businesswoman, philanthropist |
Known for | Former chairman, Mars, Incorporated |
Spouse(s) | David Spina |
Children | 4 |
Parent(s) | Forrest Mars Jr. Virginia Cretella |
Relatives | siblings: Marijke Mars, Pamela Mars-Wright and Valerie Mars |
Victoria B. Mars (born 1956/1957) is an American billionaire heiress and businesswoman. She is a former chairman of Mars, Incorporated.
Early life[]
Victoria Mars is a fourth generation member of the Mars family.[3] She is the daughter of Forrest Mars Jr. and Virginia Cretella. She has three sisters: Marijke Mars, Pamela Mars-Wright and Valerie Mars.[4] Her paternal great-grandfather, Franklin Clarence Mars, founded Mars, Incorporated in 1911.[3][5] Her paternal great-grandmother, Ethel V. Mars, was a horsebreeder at Milky Way Farm in Giles County, Tennessee.
She attended Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Virginia, from which she graduated in 1974.[6] She graduated from Yale University.[3] She earned an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 1984.[3][7]
Career[]
She started her career working for Mars, Incorporated in Haguenau, France in 1978, where she served as Assistant Brand Manager for Milky Way, followed by Export Manager.[3] In 1984, she served as Director of the Marine Systems Division of Mars Electronics International.[3] Two years later, in 1986, she was appointed Vice President of S&F, Commercial, and People and Organization for Dove of Burr Ridge, Illinois in suburban Chicago.[3] A decade later, in 1997, she was appointed Ombudsman at Mars, Incorporated.[3] She was still serving in that position in 2013.[5]
She has served on the board of directors of Mars, Incorporated since 2006.[3] Eight years later, in April 2014, she was appointed as its chairman, replacing Stephen M. Badger.[8][9] She was a keynote speaker at the 2014 annual conference organized by Great Place to Work, a non-profit organization which promotes employee well-being.[3]
In February 2015, she attended a meeting chaired by Annick Girardin, the French Minister of State for Development and Francophony, alongside Franck Riboud, the chairman of Danone, to launch the , which promotes sustainable development in agribusiness on the African continent.[10]
She inherited about 8 percent stake of Mars Inc. in 2016, which made her a billionaire. According to Forbes, her shares were valued worth of $5.9 billion as of March 2018.[11]
Charity work[]
She served on the board of trustees of her alma mater, Foxcroft School.[12]
She serves on the board of The Center for Large Landscape Conservation in Bozeman, Montana.[13] She made charitable contributions to the Charles Darwin Foundation in 2003 and 2004.[14][15] She also donated to the in 2007,[16] 2008,[17] 2009,[18] 2010,[19] 2011,[20] 2012,[21] and 2013.[22]
She made donations to the Mystic Seaport, a maritime museum in Mystic, Connecticut, in 2011–2012.[23] Additionally, she donated to the High Mountain Institute, a non-profit organization headquartered in Leadville, Colorado which teaches young people about the environment, in 2012 and 2013.[24][25]
She was a donor to the in Malvern, Pennsylvania in 2014.[26]
Personal life[]
She has four children (Stephanie, Bernadette, Kimberly, and Andrew), two from her first marriage and two from her current marriage with David Spina.[27]
References[]
- ^ "Forbes profile :Victoria Mars". Forbes. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
- ^ "Bloomberg Billionaires Index: Victoria Mars". Bloomberg. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h i j Great Place to Work. "Events Page". Great Place To Work United States. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ Emily Langer (2016-07-27). "Forrest E. Mars Jr., enigmatic steward of family confectionery, dies at 84". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
- ^ Jump up to: a b David A. Kaplan, Mars Incorporated: A pretty sweet place to work, Fortune, January 17, 2013
- ^ "At a Glance - Foxcroft School - Middleburg, VA". www.foxcroft.org. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ Matthew Brodsky, Hungry for a Sweeter Workplace?, Wharton Magazine, Winter 2015
- ^ New Chairman Of Mars, Incorporated, Victoria B. Mars Delivers Keynote At 2014 Great Place to Work® Conference, MarketWatch, April 4, 2014
- ^ "Mars, Incorporated: CEO and Executives - Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ Déclarations officielles de politique étrangère du 05 février 2015
- ^ "The World's Billionaires: 296. Victoria Mars". Forbes. 2018. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
- ^ "Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax". ProPublica. 2019-02-01. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
- ^ "Staff, Consultants and Board Members - Center for Large Landscape Conservation". largelandscapes.org. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ "Charles Darwin Foundation, Inc.: 2003 Annual Report" (PDF). Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ "Charles Darwin Foundation, Inc.: 2004 Annual Report" (PDF). Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ "Galapagos Institute: 2007 Annual Report" (PDF). Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ "Galapagos Conservancy: 2008 Annual Report" (PDF). Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ "Galapagos Conservancy: 2009 Annual Report" (PDF). Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ "Galapagos Conservancy: 2010 Annual Report" (PDF). Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ "Galapagos Conservancy: 2011 Annual Report" (PDF). Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ "Galapagos Conservancy: 2012 Annual Report" (PDF). Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ "Galapagos Conservancy: 2013 Annual Report" (PDF). Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ "Mystic Seaport: 2011-2012 Annual Financial Report" (PDF). Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ "High Mountain Institute: 2012 Annual Report" (PDF). Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ "High Mountain Institute: 2013 Annual Report" (PDF). Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ "Thorncroft Equestrian Center: Fall 2014" (PDF). Retrieved 8 August 2018.
- ^ "Foxcroft Magazine (Fall 2014) by Foxcroft School". Issuu. 2014-12-16. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
- Living people
- Yale University alumni
- Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni
- American food industry business executives
- American corporate directors
- Mars family
- American billionaires
- Female billionaires
- 1950s births
- Foxcroft School alumni