Zelda Gray, Vice President, Personnel & Organization, Mars Chocolate, NA
Howard M. Guttman, Principal, Guttman Development Strategies, Inc.

To maintain its leadership position in a tough, super-competitive market segment, Mars, Incorporated underwent fundamental organizational change from a hierarchical to a horizontal organization. This transformation required not only restructuring, along with systems and process redesign, but, more importantly, profound changes in culture and behavior. The pivot point of the effort involved changing the behavior of teams, beginning with top management and cascading throughout the corporation. The aim was to create high-performing teams with greater authority, independence, and a sense of interdependence, which would function as mini boards of directors. Human resources played a crucial role in the transformation, helping to shape the initiative, ensure implementation and ongoing support, manage the talent and training requirements, and act as process guardian. In this case study, the speakers will present candid insights and “lessons learned” during the development of great business teams at Mars.

In this co-presentation, Zelda Gray, VP of Personnel and Organization for Mars Chocolate, North America and Howard M. Guttman, principal of Guttman Development Strategies, Inc. reflect on the transformation that took place at Mars. The changes made and lessons learned in this case study will enable session attendees to instill of culture of high performance in their organization and help their teams make the transformation from good to great.

Learning objectives:

• Understand why the horizontal, high-performance model is the best way to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage
• Become aware of the changes that must take place in an organization’s culture in order for the new model to take root
• Receive practical tips, based on experience of HR professionals at Mars, Inc., to help your organization successfully make the shift to the new model

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Howard M. Guttman – Biography

Howard M. Guttman is principal of Guttman Development Strategies, Inc. (GDS), a Mount Arlington, NJ-based management consulting firm specializing in building high-performance teams, executive coaching, strategic and organizational alignment, and project implementation (www.guttmandev.com). GDS has been ranked #11 among Leadership Development consulting firms by Leadership Excellence magazine, which also named Mr. Guttman to its list of “Excellence 100 Top Thought Leaders.”
Among GDS’s U.S. and international clients are Calvin Klein; Chico’s FAS, Inc.; Colgate-Palmolive; John Hancock; Johnson & Johnson; L’Oréal USA; Mars Inc.; Novartis; Pepsico; and Schering-Plough.
Mr. Guttman is a frequent contributor to professional journals such as Harvard Management Update, Human Resource Executive, Chief Executive, and Leader to Leader. He is quoted frequently in the business press and in broad-interest magazines and newspapers such as TIME magazine, The Washington Post, U.S. News and World Report, U.S.A. Today magazine, and Investors Business Daily.
His most recent book is Great Business Teams: Cracking the Code for Standout Performance (John Wiley; www.greatbusinessteams.com), named one of the Top 30 Business Books of 2008 by Soundview Executive Book Summaries. He is also the author of When Goliaths Clash: Managing Executive Conflict to Build a More Dynamic Organization.
Mr. Guttman is a sought-after speaker who addresses corporate and academic audiences on such topics as “Great Business Teams: What Does It Take?”, Conflict Management as a Core Leadership Competency,” “Putting Performance into High-Performance Teams,” “Executive Coaching: Lessons from the Firing Line,” and “Alignment: From Strategy to Implementation.”

Zelda Gray
Vice President, Personnel and Organization, Mars Snackfood US

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Zelda Gray is the Vice President, Personnel and Organization (P&O), and responsible for the general management of the P&O function for Mars Snackfood United States (US) operations. The portfolio of brands under Zelda’s leadership include: M&M’S®, SNICKERS®, MILKY WAY®, TWIX®, 3 MUSKETEERS®, DOVE®, COMBOS®, KUDOS® and SNICKERS Marathon®. Mars produces seven of the twenty best-selling chocolate bars and products in the United States and the Snackfood US business includes seven manufacturing plants with 4,200 associates network-wide.

Zelda joined Mars in 1988 as a graduate trainee in Waltham, England and has held a variety of roles with increasing responsibility in both the United Kingdom and United States. In her well-decorated tenure, she’s contributed to Product Development, Commodity Research, Communications, Currency, Compensation and Benefits, Remuneration, and Personnel and Organization. Zelda holds Bachelor’s degree in math and music.

Zelda resides in Blairstown, N.J. with her husband John. Her interests include playing the piano, singing, gardening and reading.