SWEET SIDE PET CARE ars, one of the largest privately on 30 different best-place-to-work rankings and Mars’ andy owned companies in the world, has long lists – ranging from being voted the best place to start pharoah sits been known for two things: its chocolate a career in Brazil to ranking No. 50 on Fortune’s top down with – M&Ms, Mars bars, and Milky Way to 100 places to work. Brunswick’s M name a few – and its privacy. The rankings and recognition may be relatively Mars wants to change both of those perceptions. new for Mars, but satisfied employees aren’t. Among blake It still makes chocolate, but now its pet care a few of the anecdotes reported about the business sonnenshein businesses contribute more than any other unit to over the last 70 years: Mars paid above-market to discuss the Mars’ annual $35 billion in sales. Mars, which has salaries – at one point, the company was said to even family-owned been involved in the pet care industry for almost offer a 10 percent bonus for employees who were business’s recipe 80 years, recently completed its acquisition of never late for work – and it was egalitarian. John F. for an engaged VCA animal hospitals, making it now the largest Mars, one of the owners of the company, punched in workforce employer of veterinarians in the US. at Mars’ Virginia headquarters until he retired. To tell that story – that Mars is much more than Pharoah has been with Mars for almost a decade, a chocolate company – the business is embracing a joining from Wrigley after it was acquired by more public profile. Mars in 2008. In 2016 he took on the most senior “Candidly, five years ago, I wouldn’t be doing communications role in the firm, and now describes this interview with you,” says Andy Pharoah, Mars’ his job as “helping Mars have the conversations it Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Strategic needs to have with the society in which it operates.” Initiatives and one of 11 members on the firm’s One of those more recent conversations is Mars’ global leadership team. Being under the radar was “Sustainable in a generation” plan, which CEO Grant once an advantage, allowing Mars to keep its recipes Reid outlined in September 2017. The company and plans under wraps. “But today, we know it will invest $1 billion over three years, even beyond matters what people think about our company,” says its direct operations, to help tackle climate change, Pharoah. “If you’re going to recruit and retain the poverty in supply chains, and resource scarcity. best talent, and successfully partner with others and In a recent discussion, Pharoah spoke of how the build businesses – you need to tell your story.” century-old company is competing for new talent, And Mars has been. Among its most effective how Mars handles being a maker of sweets in an methods has been allowing its more than 100,000 increasingly health-conscious world, and how he associates around the world to help “demystify” the became convinced his first manager at Mars was company. Between 2016 and 2017, Mars was listed desperate to get rid of him. 58 brunswick review · issue 13 · 2017 PET CARE ILLUSTRATION: JOE CIARDIELLO JOE ILLUSTRATION: brunswick review · issue 13 · 2017 59 INTERVIEW ANDY PHAROAH “The number Mars flourished as a business without opening up probably see them in some form at most companies. to the outside world. Why change that now? In many ways, those are table stakes. of articles I’ve We’ve always believed in letting our brands do the The others, mutuality and freedom, are I think seen about talking. We’re a branded-goods company; we want what’s unique about Mars. Forrest Mars Sr. wrote our brands to be famous. And thankfully, they are. a letter in 1947 about the original purpose of the Mars pet care But we’re in a world where everything is pretty company and that’s the actual the language he used: where the much transparent. Our decision to talk or not talk a “mutuality of benefits.” In other words, creating about Mars doesn’t determine whether there’s a win-win for everyone: customers, employees, image is a stock information about us. It’s out there already. And if shareholders, suppliers and society. That letter was photograph of we want to continue to grow, we need people – and codified by his children into the five principles. people have choices. a chocolate We want to be known for the totality of what A lot of companies have guiding principles but product … it still Mars is, not just what people instinctively go to. struggle to know if they’re actually living them. The number of articles I’ve seen about Mars pet care How does Mars try to answer that question? happens” where the image is a stock photograph of a chocolate The only way you live principles is through people. So product … it still happens. we ask them directly. Every year, we work with Gallup We’ve taken steps to show the breadth of for our associate assessment – that’s 100,000 people our business, the depth of the work we do and across 78 countries. And we see response rates in the the difference we try to make in the world. Our upper 90 percent range. And it really is a question assumption on external engagement has gone from we ask of everyone, even our senior leaders. Have I being, “No, we don’t want to do this,” to, “What’s a discussed the five principles with my team? Do I see good reason why we shouldn’t?” decisions being made in my team around the five principles? One thing Mars has consistently talked about is We have some good data to see how we’re doing, its Five Principles. how our leaders are doing, if we’re getting better. There’s always a danger that when you talk about your company, it sounds like you’re in a cult. But You say Mars is unlike any other company. Is there Mars genuinely is unique. When I was a consultant, I one example that captures that for you? worked with something like 70 different companies, One of my favorite stories happened right when and I never met one that was quite like Mars. I joined after the merger with Wrigley. Mars had And it starts with the five principles you an industry-leading marketing code that said we mentioned (quality, responsibility, efficiency, don’t target children under 12 years of age in our mutuality and freedom). You see them in every advertising. And I was given the job of implementing office. You hear them pretty much in every business that across Wrigley’s business. At that point, Wrigley conversation. As a company, we have relatively few didn’t have a marketing code. And I thought it was rules, but we have very strong principles. going to be a hard sell, I would need to convince my ANDY PHAROAH And those principles matter. They’re how tough business leaders. So I thought, “Aha, I’ll go and talk to decisions are made. They deeply matter to our the people in Mars who implemented it.” Andy Pharoah is Vice owners because those principles came from a spirit So I asked them, “How did you manage to get President of Corporate Affairs and Strategic that was developed by Forrest Mars Sr. in 1947. everyone on board? What proof did you provide Initiatives at Mars, and At one of our leadership summits, we had our to get people’s buy-in?” And they were sort of one of 11 members on the firm’s global leadership general managers together with some Mars family bewildered and said, “Oh no. We didn’t do anything team. Previously, Pharoah members. And a manager asked for guidance on like that. We just decided it was the right thing to do.” worked in Wrigley’s making some particularly difficult decisions. The Corporate Affairs office, and was promoted to lead response was: if you assess each business decision Do you think being a family-owned, privately held the department after the against our five principles, then 90 percent of the company makes it easier to be considered one of company was officially time, you’re going get it right. And the important the best places to work? acquired by Mars. thing on the 10 percent of the time you get it wrong Plenty of private companies struggle to engage blake sonnenshein is that you learn from it. employees; plenty of public companies do it is a Director in brilliantly – I don’t think ownership structures Brunswick’s New York Have those principles changed? determine how you perform. office. She specializes in both the consumer and No, they haven’t. And if you look at the first three But I do think being family-owned and privately private equity sectors. (quality, responsibility, efficiency) you could held conveys some advantages. It changes your focus. 60 brunswick review · issue 13 · 2017 INTERVIEW ANDY PHAROAH The Mars family thinks in generational terms. Now, that doesn’t mean it’s OK if performance today is bad but could be good in 20 years. Performance now matters. But we do have the ability to ask, “What is THE OLD THE NEW the right thing to do?” and then do it. That’s a luxury. for astronauts going to the International And while we examine our performance regularly, INSPIRATION FOR THE ICONIC M&M candy supposedly came from the Space Station.