Pladis, one of the world’s leading snacking companies, has appointed A Salman Amin as global CEO. Salman will be taking over the leadership officially in February.
With a strong reputation in the food and drink sector, Salman takes up the role after a highly successful international career spanning three decades and three continents. Most recently, Salman was the global chief operating officer, global commercial division for SC Johnson & Son where he was accountable for all categories and geographies.
During his tenure at the family-owned enterprise, Salman was successful in rejuvenating their portfolio of global brands, building a world class marketing organisation, accelerating innovation speed to market, driving growth in operating profit margins, and leading a programme of cultural transformation that empowered people to ‘play to win.’
Welcoming Salman to the company, Murat Ulker, chairman of Yildiz Holding, said, “Pladis is just over two years old and already we’re fast becoming a global snacking leader. With Salman’s proven track record in driving transformation and growth among global FMCG players, we’re delighted to welcome him to lead our ambitious and entrepreneurial team.”
Previous to joining SC Johnson, Salman was PepsiCo’s chief marketing officer and also held significant roles across the business including President PepsiCo, United Kingdom and Ireland and other leadership roles during his 17 years at the company. He also spent 10 years at Procter & Gamble working in the United States, Germany, Saudi Arabia and Switzerland.
An insights-focused, energetic leader, with comprehensive global experience across marketing, sales and operations, Salman thrives at the centre of brand and business development: as CMO at PepsiCo, he led all facets of marketing for the company’s multiple billion dollar brands across insights, sports marketing, digital, media buying, and capability and people planning; he led PepsiCo’s move to front-of-pack labelling in the UK encouraging well-informed consumer decision-making; he was a leader in successfully expanding the PepsiCo snacks portfolio globally with iconic brands like Lays and Doritos.
Salman will be accountable for all the categories and geographies of the company, from Europe, America, Africa to Middle East, Central Asia and Far East.
He will begin immersing himself in the culture of Pladis, meeting colleagues and customers, before formulating his global strategy for the business. He will build on Pladis’ focus to strategically diversify its global brand, McVitie’s, alongside Ulker and a range of Godiva chocolates exclusively for consumer-packaged goods channels and core markets. He will also focus on inspiring a global workforce to capitalise on ever-changing, multi-channel, dynamic environments.
Commenting on his appointment, Salman said, “I’ve built a career on seeking out opportunities to rewrite the rules, diversify and be part of consumer evolution. At Pladis we have the opportunity to make our local favourites global stars, and share the heritage of our biscuits and confectionery with the world. I’m looking forward to joining my new colleagues as we embark on this journey together.”
