IKEA Global VP Christoph Heyn to Join Mars Petcare as Chief Digital Officer

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Press release: Mars Petcare

Mars, Incorporated has announced that Christoph Heyn, current global vice president, digital at IKEA, will join the company as chief digital officer (CDO) for the petcare segment on November 27. In this newly created role, he will lead the definition and global scaling of signature digital products, and the development of key areas of digital capabilities across the organization, strengthening the ability to respond to the needs of pet owners across its multiple business models. In his new role, he will report to Leonid Sudakov, president of growth, digital & platforms.

Christoph brings an impressive track-record of digital transformation at scale across retail, hospitality and financial services industries. He has held leadership positions at Ritz-Carlton & Marriott International, Capital One and most recently IKEA, where he led the digital customer experience and tech platform transformation. During this time, he played a key role in the transformation of IKEA from a store-based retail model into an omni-channel business, with a platform visited by billions of customers annually.

Sudakov said: “Christoph’s unique leadership experience in consumer facing technology, across a variety of relevant industries, will bring huge value to both our business and pet owners. We are on a journey to accelerate the transformation of our digital products and services, and I’m thrilled to have Christoph join us.”

On joining Mars Petcare, Heyn commented: “When you look at the transformation Mars has already undertaken in Petcare over the last decade, from nutrition to care and platforms, in service of creating: A Better World for Pets, you get a real sense of the ambition and commitment. That’s why I’m so excited to join the team, helping to revolutionize the role digital plays in making pet ownership simpler and more joyful.”

The move signals the continued focus on digitalization and technology to accelerate business transformation, drive growth and better serve millions of pets and pet owners: delivering on the Purpose to create: A BETTER WORLD FOR PETS. 

Mars is a global leader in pet care, with over 100,000 Associates helping pets, their owners and pet professionals in more than 130 countries, spanning comprehensive veterinary care (including: AniCura, BANFIELD, BLUEPEARL, Linnaeus and VCA), nutrition (including PEDIGREE, ROYAL CANIN and WHISKAS), breakthrough programs in diagnostics, wearable health monitoring, DNA testing and pet parent platforms.