Victoria B. Mars (born 1956/1957) is an American billionaire heiress and businesswoman. She is a former chairwoman of

Mars, Incorporated Mars, Incorporated is an American multinational manufacturer of confectionery, pet food, and other food products and a provider of animal care services, with US$40 billion in annual sales in 2021. Mars was ranked as the fourth-largest pri ...

, and current chair of

Salzburg Global Seminar Salzburg Global Seminar is a non-profit organization that challenges current and future leaders to shape a better world. It convenes programs on health care, education, culture, finance, technology, public policy, media, human rights, corporate g ...

Early life

Victoria Mars is a fourth generation member of the

Mars family The Mars family is an American family that owns the eponymous confectionery company Mars, Inc. In 1988, the family was ranked as the richest family in the United States of America by ''Fortune'' magazine. It has since been surpassed by the Walt ...

. She is the daughter of Forrest Mars Jr. and Virginia Cretella. She has three sisters:

Marijke Mars Marijke Elizabeth Mars (born 1965) is an American billionaire heiress and businesswoman. In March 2018 ''Forbes'' estimated her wealth to be $5.9 billion. She was ranked as the 30th-richest woman in the world, a position shared with her three si ...

, Pamela Mars-Wright and Valerie Mars. Her paternal great-grandfather,

Franklin Clarence Mars Franklin Clarence Mars (; September 24, 1883 – April 8, 1935) was an American business magnate who founded the food company Mars, Incorporated, which mostly makes chocolate candy. Mars' son Forrest Edward Mars developed M&M's and the Mars ...

, founded Mars, Incorporated in 1911.David A. Kaplan
Mars Incorporated: A pretty sweet place to work
'' Fortune'', January 17, 2013 Her paternal great-grandmother,

Ethel V. Mars Ethel Veronica Mars (birth name, née Healy; June 1884 – December 25, 1945) was an American businesswoman and racehorse owner. She was Ethel Veronica Healy prior to her marriage in 1910 to Franklin Clarence Mars, the founder of the Mars, Incorp ...

, was a horsebreeder at

Milky Way Farm Milky Way Farm in Giles County, Tennessee, is the former estate of Franklin C. Mars, founder of Mars Candies. The property is named for the company's Milky Way candy bar. During the Great Depression, the estate was the largest employer in Gi ...

Giles County, Tennessee Giles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,346. Its county seat is Pulaski. History Giles County is named after William Branch Giles, a Senator from Virginia who sponsored the ...

. She attended Foxcroft School in

Middleburg, Virginia Middleburg is a town in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 673 as of the 2010 census. It is the southernmost town along Loudoun County's shared border with Fauquier County. Middleburg is known as the "Nation's Horse ...

, from which she graduated in 1974. She graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

. She earned an MBA in Finance from the

Wharton School of Business The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1984.Matthew Brodsky
Hungry for a Sweeter Workplace?
''Wharton Magazine'', Winter 2015

Career

She started her career working for Mars, Incorporated in Haguenau,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in 1978, where she served as Assistant Brand Manager for

Milky Way The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. ...

, followed by Export Manager. In 1984, she served as Director of the Marine Systems Division of Mars Electronics International. Two years later, in 1986, she was appointed Vice President of S&F, Commercial, and People and Organization for

Dove Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

Burr Ridge, Illinois Burr Ridge (formerly Harvester) is a village in Cook and DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. A suburb of Chicago, it is among the wealthiest towns in Illinois and is locally known for its large, elegant mansions and luxury lifestyles. ...

in suburban

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. A decade later, in 1997, she was appointed Ombudsman at Mars, Incorporated. She was still serving in that position in 2013. She has served on the board of directors of Mars, Incorporated since 2006. Eight years later, in April 2014, she was appointed as its chairman, replacing Stephen M. Badger.New Chairman Of Mars, Incorporated, Victoria B. Mars Delivers Keynote At 2014 Great Place to Work® Conference
'' MarketWatch'', April 4, 2014 She was a keynote speaker at the 2014 annual conference organized by Great Place to Work, a non-profit organization which promotes employee well-being. In February 2015, she attended a meeting chaired by

Annick Girardin Annick Girardin (born 3 August 1964) is a French politician of the Radical Party who served as Minister of the Sea in the government of Prime Minister Jean Castex (2020–2022), Minister of Overseas France in the government of Prime Minis ...

, the French Minister of State for Development and Francophony, alongside

Franck Riboud Franck Riboud (born 7 November 1955) is a French businessman. He served as the chairman of Danone. Biography Franck Riboud was born on 7 November 1955 in Lyon. He is the son of Antoine Riboud, the previous CEO, who transformed the former Europe ...

, the chairman of

Danone Danone S.A. () is a French multinational food-products corporation based in Paris. It was founded in Barcelona, Spain. It is listed on Euronext Paris where it is a component of the CAC 40 stock market index. Some of the company's products are ...

, to launch the Livelihoods Funds, which promotes sustainable development in agribusiness on the African continent.Déclarations officielles de politique étrangère du 05 février 2015
/ref> She inherited about 8 percent stake of Mars Inc. in 2016, which made her a billionaire. According to

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

, her shares were valued worth of $5.9 billion as of March 2018.

Charity work

She served on the board of trustees of her alma mater, Foxcroft School. She serves on the board of The Center for Large Landscape Conservation in Bozeman, Montana. She made charitable contributions to the

Charles Darwin Foundation The Charles Darwin Foundation ( Spanish: ''Fundación Charles Darwin'') was founded in 1959, under the auspices of UNESCO and the World Conservation Union. The Charles Darwin Research Station serves as headquarters for The Foundation, and is use ...

in 2003 and 2004. She also donated to the Galapagos Conservancy in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. She made donations to the

Mystic Seaport Mystic Seaport Museum or Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea in Mystic, Connecticut is the largest maritime museum in the United States. It is notable for its collection of sailing ships and boats and for the re-creation of the cra ...

, a maritime museum in

Mystic, Connecticut Mystic is a village and census-designated place (CDP) in Groton, Connecticut, Groton and Stonington, Connecticut, United States. Historically, Mystic was a significant Connecticut seaport with more than 600 ships built over 135 years starting in ...

, in 2011–2012. Additionally, she donated to the

High Mountain Institute The High Mountain Institute (HMI) is a non-profit educational organization located in Leadville, Colorado. Founded in 1995 by Molly and Christopher Barnes, HMI focuses on educating teenagers through interaction with the natural world of the Americ ...

, a non-profit organization headquartered in Leadville, Colorado which teaches young people about the environment, in 2012 and 2013. She was a donor to the Thorncroft Equestrian Center in

Malvern, Pennsylvania Malvern is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania. It is west of Philadelphia. The population was 3,419 at the 2020 census. The borough is bordered by Paoli Pike on the south, Sugartown Road on the west, Willistown Township on the east, an ...

in 2014.

Personal life

She has four children (Stephanie, Bernadette, Kimberly, and Andrew), two from her first marriage and two from her current marriage with David Spina.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mars, Victoria B. Living people Yale University alumni Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni American food industry business executives American corporate directors Mars family American billionaires Female billionaires Year of birth missing (living people) 1950s births Foxcroft School alumni