Wimm-Bill-Dann Foods, one of Russia’s leading manufacturers of dairy products, has appointed Grant Winterton as the group’s first head of marketing and innovation, effective from November. The company said that the appointment, and indeed the creation of this new position, emphasised Wimm-Bill-Dann’s strategic focus on marketing.
Until now, the company had three heads of marketing for the dairy, beverages and baby food businesses, each of whom reported to their respective unit boss. Under the new structure, these marketing managers will all report to the group head of marketing and innovation – Winterton. It is hoped that this new structure will capture synergies around corporate identity, media and advertising through larger marketing campaigns.
Winterton has previously held marketing and sales positions at Wella Haircare, the Campbell Soup Company and Coca-Cola. He has also worked in the milk and soft dairy divisions of National Dairies, Australia’s largest dairy producer.
“The new position of the group head of marketing and innovation underscores our marketing strategy to leverage Wimm-Bill-Dann’s leading portfolio of brands into stronger competitive advantage, and accelerate innovation based on deeper consumer understanding. I am very pleased that Grant Winterton will be leading this effort”, commented Tony Maher, Wimm-Bill-Dann’s CEO.
“Under Grant’s leadership we are also bringing together our significant capability in research and development, so as to focus on value added innovations that fill consumer-identified gaps in the market,” Maher continued.
Of the appointment, Winterton commented: “I am very excited to join Wimm-Bill-Dann, which has a leading position in health and wellness, a trend that is growing globally, including in Russia. Wimm-Bill-Dann has a number of power brands which provide a good foundation for future growth, and a well developed science capability in healthy foods which can lead to a wider portfolio of health oriented brands.”
