Christina Ruggiero and NachoMars Inc.
Ruggiero will oversee the company's North America and Canada pet nutrition business, which includes the Pedigree, Iams, Sheba, Cesar, Greenies, Temptations and Nutro brands.
Ruggiero joins Mars from The Coca-Cola Co., where she most recently served as president of the global nutrition category, leading a $9 billion portfolio that included Minute Maid, Simply, Santa Clara, Fairlife, Maaza and Innocent.
Nearly two-thirds of Americans are pet parents, according to a NielsenIQ Pet-O-Graphics Survey from Q2 2025, and more than a third say their pet is the most important thing in their life, per the Mars Global Pet Parent Study from April 2024. More than four in five pet parents view nutrition as the most important contributor to their pet's health, according to Petfood Industry, April 2025.
"Throughout my career, I've been drawn to businesses with category-defining brands, strong purpose and opportunities to create meaningful impact," Ruggiero said. "Mars Pet Nutrition combines world-class science, culturally fluent brands and a deep understanding of the role pets play in people's lives. 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."
Before leading Coca-Cola's global nutrition category, Ruggiero served as president of North America operations, central zone. She also spent nearly four years in India as chairperson and CEO of Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd., where the company said she doubled the company's net worth and expanded its retail footprint.
Earlier in her career, Ruggiero held leadership roles in procurement, operations and supply chain, including vice president of procurement for Diageo, where she led teams across North America, Europe, Russia and Africa. She began her career as a cryptologist in the U.S. Navy supporting the National Security Agency.
Ruggiero holds a master's degree in management from the University of Huddersfield and a bachelor's degree from Marymount College.
