Mars, Incorporated has appointed Christina Ruggiero as Regional President, Mars Pet Nutrition North America, effective July 1 — placing a Coca-Cola veteran with a $9 billion portfolio track record at the helm of one of the company's largest regional business units.
Ruggiero will oversee seven brands: PEDIGREE, IAMS, SHEBA, CESAR, GREENIES, TEMPTATIONS and NUTRO, with responsibility for retail partnerships, supplier relationships and omnichannel growth across the United States and Canada. Mars describes the unit as operating inside a $65 billion-plus combined enterprise following its integration with Kellanova.
The Hire
Ruggiero joins from The Coca-Cola Company, where she most recently served as President of the Global Nutrition Category, a portfolio encompassing Minute Maid, Simply, fairlife, Maaza and Innocent that she grew into one of Coca-Cola's fastest-expanding segments during her tenure. Before that role she served as President, North America Operations, Central Zone, and spent nearly four years in India as Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd., where she doubled the company's net worth and substantially expanded its retail footprint. Earlier career stops included Vice President of Procurement at Diageo, with oversight across North America, Europe, Russia and Africa. She began her professional life as a cryptologist in the U.S. Navy.
Why the Category Is Moving
The appointment arrives as pet nutrition becomes an increasingly contested segment of the broader food and beverage supply chain. Nearly two-thirds of Americans are now pet owners, according to a NielsenIQ Pet-O-Graphics Survey from Q2 2025, and more than four in five pet parents identify nutrition as the primary driver of their pet's health, per Petfood Industry data from April 2025. Mars's own Global Pet Parent Study found that more than one-third of American pet owners describe their pet as the most important thing in their life — a consumer-sentiment signal that has accelerated premiumisation, science-backed formulation investment and the push into hydration, gut health, dental health and healthy-aging product lines.
For Mars, which also operates veterinary hospital networks under the Banfield, BluePearl and VCA banners, the North America pet nutrition division sits at the intersection of retail consumer goods and the company's broader health-and-wellness platform. Ruggiero's background bridging consumer behavior, large-scale procurement and nutrition-category management maps directly onto that mandate.
What Comes Next
"Mars Pet Nutrition combines world-class science, culturally fluent brands and a deep understanding of the role pets play in people's lives," Ruggiero said. "I'm excited to join the team at such an important time for the business and help accelerate growth, strengthen innovation and give pet parents greater confidence in the choices they make every day for the pets we love."
Mars did not disclose financial targets for the North America unit. The company's stated priorities for Ruggiero's tenure include science-backed product innovation, digital acceleration and operational excellence — themes consistent with the trajectory food and beverage manufacturers are pursuing across premium pet nutrition as the category converges with human health-and-wellness spending. Retail partners and suppliers will watch how Ruggiero's Coca-Cola-honed omnichannel playbook translates to a segment where specialty and e-commerce channels have reshaped distribution dynamics in recent years.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
