Confectionery company Wrigley Pacific has appointed Patrick Gantier as general manager.
Gantier, formerly the general manager of Mars Food France, has a 20 year career in fast moving consumer goods throughout Europe and the US.
Joining Mars Food France in 2008 as marketing director, he was appointed general manager in 2011. Under Gantier’s leadership, Mars Food France had four years of sustained business growth.
Prior to joining Mars, Gantier worked for 12 years in various marketing roles in France, Central Europe and the US for prominent French multinational cheese manufacturer BEL, where he had success in building brands and effective marketing teams in diverse market environments.
Gantier has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Finance and a Master’s degree in Marketing.
In 2015, Wrigley saw growth on the back of its relaunch of category-leading Extra chewing gum and the popularity of highly successful brands such as Starburst, Skittles and Eclipse mints.
As a subsidiary of Mars, Wrigley Pacific was jointly recognised as one of Asia’s Best Multinational Workplaces 2016, ranking at number eight in the Great Place to Work Awards and the only manufacturing business in the Top 10. It was also recognised as one of Australia’s best workplaces in 2015 by the BRW Great Place to Work Awards. Together, all Mars subsidiaries were ranked as the 15th best places to work in the country, and the only manufacturing businesses in the Top 25.
“It is a great time to be joining Wrigley Pacific,” Gantier said. “We are excited to have the opportunity to explore how we can use local and global shopper insights to partner with retailers and implement forward thinking merchandising solutions.
“I’m thrilled to be working with such a high performing team and look forward to driving ways in which we can improve the shopping experience and continue to deliver impressive results to drive growth in the gum, mint and confectionery categories.”
Gantier will also join the Wrigley Asia Pacific Leadership Team. Ian Burton, Regional President of Wrigley for Asia Pacific welcomed Gantier’s appointment, saying “Patrick will be a terrific addition to an already strong Pacific team. He has a proven track record of growing a business and I have no doubt that he will quickly become an integral part of the wider retail and business community in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region.”
