Mondelez World Travel Retail (WTR) Senior Business Development Manager Mathis Dreher has retired after a stellar global career spanning over 25 years.
Dreher is one of the founding members of Mondelez WTR. His retirement has prompted tributes from across the industry, with colleagues and peers underlining his pragmatism, agility and hands-on approach which drove many successes for the company.
Mondelez WTR Business Development Manager North America Peter Flanigan said: “Just like our iconic Toblerone, Mathis embodies the core attributes of what it means to be Swiss: open to all cultures, optimistic, financially sound, and when necessary, a much-needed mercenary.”
Dreher worked with the Red Cross before joining what was then Kraft Jacobs Suchard in 1996 to develop travel retail markets in the Middle East and Latin America. In 2003 he was appointed Senior Business Development Americas at Kraft Foods and assumed the Mondelez International Senior Business Development Manager role in Brazil in 2010.
Mondelez WTR Managing Director Jaya Singh described Dreher as an “outstanding example of commitment, passion and dedication toward building businesses and relationships wherever they may be possible.
“He has been, and will continue to be, a foundation stone to the DNA of our business for years to come, even as an exciting new chapter in his life opens up. He will be missed, especially his keen sense of humanity, which characterises what the man is all about and the difference he has made over the years,” Singh commented.
Mondelez WTR Head of Global Sales Carlos Granados Moyano added: “Mathis has always possessed a unique ability for optimism and problem solving. Over the years he has built a customer-based business and created a legacy in Latin America that will continue to live on.
“On behalf of the Mondelez WTR Sales team, I would like to thank Mathis for his dedicated service and hard work. He has been a pillar in this industry as well as our organisation and on a personal note I must say I’m sad to see him go, but we all wish him the best of luck in this next stage of life and his well-deserved retirement.”
Other industry figures in the Americas added tributes. Former Philip Morris International Planning & Business Development Manager and current Jonlynn Group President John Hernandez said: “Our whole team remembers him for his kindness and stellar attention to his customers and colleagues. Matty you may be retiring but we hope to see you in a different capacity as the industry needs people like you.”
Global Brands General Director Guillermo Delvechio added: “We are very grateful to Mathis and to Mondelez. What I will remember is his personality, always looking forward, an honest person, a person who always wants the best for the business. He has supported us wherever possible, and for us, that is very valuable. We wish you the best of the best with your new direction and you know that here, in Uruguay, you have friends.”
Magna Import General Director Enrique Lanuza said: “Many years ago, when I started in the duty free world, Mathis was already there, to give me the best advice and, as a great expert, he did it very well. With his duty accomplished, he is starting a new chapter in his life; to enjoy his free time, enjoy his family, his kids, his wife, which is something all of us dream of. We will miss you Mathis.”
