Paulo de Castro Joins Mars, Incorporated as Chief Financial Officer of Mars Petcare

BRUSSELS, April 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Mars Petcare announced today that Paulo de Castro will join their global management team as the leader of the finance function. De Castro brings over 25 years of experience in finance, M&A, and business leadership. His background in consumer goods and services are a great fit for Mars Petcare, a business that provides for health care, nutrition and services for half of the world's pets.

De Castro will join Mars Petcare in June from GrandVision, a $4B leader in optical retail with business in more than 40 countries, where he has been CFO since 2012.

Prior to GrandVision, de Castro spent ten years with Unilever in a number of finance positions including personal assistant to Unilever Chairman, CFO for Canada, and CFO of the Unilever Supply Chain Company.

"We are very excited to welcome Paulo to Mars Petcare," said Poul Weihrauch, Global President, Mars Petcare. "He brings a wealth of exceptional knowledge and experience, and along with his lifelong love of animals, I am confident he will help us advance our purpose of creating: A Better World for Pets."

"I'm delighted to be joining Mars, a world-class company and a leader in animal health and nutrition, and I'm looking forward to helping Mars Petcare grow the business around the world," said de Castro.

"Paulo will play a leading role in the continued successful value creation strategy for Mars Petcare and I am excited to have Paolo contribute to the Mars, Incorporated financial strategy. We are pleased to be building our capabilities both from within and by adding new team members like Paulo," said Claus Aagaard, Chief Financial Officer of Mars, Incorporated.

About Mars Petcare
Part of Mars, Incorporated, a family-owned business with more than a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love, the 85,000 Associates in Mars Petcare are dedicated to one purpose: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS. With 75 years of experience, our portfolio of almost 50 brands serves the health and nutrition needs of the world's pets – including brands PEDIGREE^®, WHISKAS^®, ROYAL CANIN^®, NUTRO™, GREENIES™, SHEBA^®, CESAR^®, IAMS™ and EUKANUBA™ as well as The WALTHAM Centre for Pet Nutrition which has advanced research in the nutrition and health of pets for over 50 years. Mars Petcare is also a leading veterinary health provider through a network of over 2,000 pet hospitals including BANFIELD™, BLUEPEARL™, PET PARTNERS™, VCA™, Linnaeus and AniCura. We're also active in innovation and technology for pets, with WISDOM PANEL™ genetic health screening and DNA testing for dogs, the WHISTLE™ GPS dog tracker, and LEAP VENTURE STUDIO accelerator and COMPANION FUND™ programs that drive innovation and disruption in the pet care industry. As a family business and guided by our principles, we are privileged with the flexibility to fight for what we believe in – and we choose to fight for: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS.