Maria Velissariou

Vice President, Corporate R & D and Chief Science Officer @ Mars

Maria is Global Vice President Corporate R&D and Chief Science Officer at Mars, Incorporated. She leads Mars’ enterprise-wide approach to Quality and Food Safety, Scientific Regulatory Affairs, Digitalization of R&D, and delivery of global R&D strategy. Before Mars, Maria held several senior leadership positions including Chief Science and Technology Officer at the Institute of Food Technologists, and VP Global Nutrition R&D and VP Quaker Foods North America R&D at PepsiCo.

Throughout her career, Maria has been strategically focused on translating science and technology opportunities into scalable innovation solutions. She serves on the board of directors of the Chicago Council for Science and Technology, is a member of the Advisory Council at the Women Business Collaborative, and is a long-term advocate for increasing diversity in STEM.

Maria earned a Ph.D. and Masters in Biochemical Engineering from the University of Birmingham (UK), and a B.Eng. in Chemical Engineering from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece). She also studied Executive Leadership at Cornell University. She has presented at various global conferences and featured in diverse media including the Wall Street Journal, Axios, and Food Manufacturing.

Maria is a native of Greece and holds UK and USA citizenship. She currently lives in Washington D.C.