J&J exec turns to chocolate at Mars

Twenty-year Johnson & Johnson former executive Rick LaBerge was named VPof sales at Mars Chocolate North America.

In his new role, LaBerge will lead the Mars Chocolate sales organization, overseeing the strategy and execution of retail management, customer account teams, field sales and customer development. He will serve as a member of the Mars senior management team and will play an active role in industry events, according to the company.

LaBerge joins Mars from J&J where he most recently served as the general manager of the Walmart Global Cross Functional team for the health care company’s consumer product’s segment. In that role, LaBerg oversaw a mix of brands and segments across the consumer sector representing $1.6 billion in sales.