Forrest Mars Jr Success Story

Forrest completed his BA from Yale University, after which, he served the Army as a finance officer, followed by a job at Prince Waterhouse’s accounting firm in New York. He spent a lot of time in New York before gaining an entry into his family business and earned respect within the family by starting from scratch to build a business.

He joined Mars in 1960, but that was not an end to his struggle as he had to travel a long way to prove his capability. The new headquarter of the company was opened in Downtown, Washington, where Forrest Jr was assigned to oversee its opening.

Next year, he was sent to Veghel, Netherlands, where he started serving the European continent by establishing a fresh candy factory. He spent whole nights in the factory to focus on efficiency and quality, but still failed to impress his father. An unfortunate incident took place and the plant caught fire a few days before its opening and Forrest Jr lost all his respect. Instead of losing hope, he invested another 9 months rebuilding the plant, but the outbursts kept haunting brothers for several years.

Career

It was in 1973, when the ownership of the company was transferred to Forrest Jr and his brother. They took over the charge and worked constantly on their efficiency and quality, before another blow came in the form of Hershey. This new firm took over Cadbury Schweppes’ US Division on July 22, 1988, acquiring more market share than the Mars, putting the latter down to the second number for the first time.

Forrest Jr struggled for a long period of 15 years to regain the lost position, including the acquirement of their father’s newly established company, Ethel M. Former Mars and appointing a magical recruit on the marketing head.

Ultimately, in 1991, Mars reclaimed its position and expanded their product line with the introduction of Uncle Ben’s Rice along with pet food brands, Whiskas and Pedigree. Thus, Forrest attained today’s position, working through his deficits and struggling hard.