Kalpesh Parmar to head Mars Wrigley’s India business

Chocolate and candy maker Mars Wrigley on Tuesday announced the appointment of former Unilever executive Kalpesh Parmar as general manager for its India business replacing Andrew Leaky who has moved to head the American company's business in Australia.

Parmar, will be based in the Gurgaon office and will become a member of Mars Wrigley's global emerging markets leadership team, the maker of Twix and Snickers chocolate said in a statement on Tuesday. Parmar will head the company chocolates, gums, and candy business in India.

Parmar, alumnus of Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, has over two decades of work experience across the consumer goods industry in markets across Asia and Africa. Prior to Unilever, he worked with home grown FMCG major Marico, apart from Gillette in India. In his last assignment, Parmar was chief executive officer for Unilever's South Korea, Pacific Islands and Mongolia businesses; he also managed the company's ice cream business in Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Prior to this, he was Unilever's global customer collaboration director based out of Singapore. "He was the member of Global Customer Development team and was responsible for managing 30 customer insight and innovation centers across the globe. He was driving the joint business planning process for developed and emerging markets for top 40 markets," the statement added.

Mars, among the world's largest food companies, entered India in 2002 and runs business under four divisions here namely, Mars Wrigley, Mars Petcare, Mars Food, Royal Canin. The company sells popular brands such as M&M's, Milky Way, Orbit, Skittles, Dove, and Pedigree pet food among others.