The way industries operate is evolving fast, and Keren Chen is right at the heart of this transformation. From her base in China, she’s using AI and digital tools to help Mars improve how we work and sell, making everyday processes smoother, faster, and smarter. The kind of improvements her team is driving weren’t really possible a few years ago, and that’s exactly what makes it exciting.
Before joining Mars, Chen worked for a business-to-business (B2B) technology company, focusing on enterprise digital solution consulting and development. However, she craved a deeper understanding of how brands operate and grow beyond the scope of a third-party consultant.
“I wanted to be closer to the business, to truly understand how a brand operates and contributes to growth,” she says. “Mars gave me that opportunity.” That curiosity, combined with her passion for the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry, led her to Mars.
Here, she shares her career highlights, how she’s grown as a leader since joining Mars, and the unique challenges of working with AI.
What attracted you to Mars, and how did you know the company would align with your professional goals, values, and needs?
When I worked at a B2B tech company, I started helping businesses solve commercial problems with digital solutions. As I gained more work experience, I realized that as a vendor company, we were focused on solutions in a vertical field but lacked a horizontal perspective to understand business operations. So, I wanted to get closer to brands and businesses, especially established brands. In terms of industry, I like the fast-moving consumer goods industry. Mars, as a century-old food company, met both of my needs.
What are your core responsibilities as a digital business partner senior manager? Why does this work excite or inspire you?
My main responsibility is to leverage digital solutions to address the company’s business problems and empower its growth and efficiency. My sense of achievement comes from bringing cutting-edge technology to Mars that generates business value.
Can you tell us a bit more about the AI recognition project you’re working on?
This project is all about enabling distribution growth with AI technology. Traditionally, sales associates manually recorded product distribution in retail stores. With this AI project, sales associates can take photos of products and display racks, and the system automatically identifies and logs the relevant data. Instead of manually filling out reports, our field sales teams can focus on what really matters, which is driving growth.
What are some of the challenges of working with AI, and how have you overcome them?
One challenge is refining our internal understanding of AI capabilities.
At the beginning, we had very few learning materials to train the AI model, so accuracy was unstable. We handled this by continuously feeding the model with real display photos from sales associates, refining its recognition capabilities.
Another challenge we experienced was change management, and that’s never easy. To help our teams adapt, we set up training and service groups and introduced hyper-care periods to support every system update.
Before joining Mars, you worked for a B2B technology company, focusing on digital solution consulting and development. How has this experience helped you thrive in your current role?
The biggest win from that experience was accumulating professional knowledge and skills. At Mars, I led the AI image recognition and digital marketing projects. My previous experience allowed me to quickly acclimate to the digital transformation work and effectively communicate with our partners. It also helped me accumulate industry resources.
How does Mars embody a digital-first mindset?
Since joining Mars a few years ago, I’ve noticed that Associates are becoming more conscious of using data to analyze and solve problems. The digital team is also getting involved in business discussions and the decision-making process at an earlier stage. In China, we’re in the third year of our Digital Pioneer program, with more Associates participating. Everyone is actively proposing digital innovation solutions. The winning projects are even being implemented to create business value. Everyone’s awareness and enthusiasm for digitalization have become stronger.
What is one highlight of your career thus far at Mars, and why?
When I first joined Mars, I was responsible for digital marketing. In the second half of 2024, I started to explore digital innovation in the sales domain, which is a completely different area. All the knowledge systems and partnerships had to be rebuilt. I’m very proud that I broke out of my comfort zone to drive the implementation and value creation of digitalization in both fields.
What advice would you give those striving to work at a tech-driven business? What skills and characteristics do they need to thrive at Mars and beyond?
Stay curious! Pay attention to the changes in the world, and be brave enough to embrace them. At the same time, fully develop your business acumen. Digitalization ultimately empowers business, and only by combining the two can you create value.