Wan Ling Martello is a Philippine woman whose success continues to stand as a reference point to many. Martello is an American citizen of Chinese and Filipino heritage she is a woman with exceptional leadership qualities which makes her stand out in every area of the economy. Martello was born in the Philippines in 1958 and belongs to a Chinese-Filipino family.
She studied at the University of the Philippines where she earned her Bachelor Degree in Business Administration and Accountancy and proceeded to the University of Minnesota where she acquired her MBA. She is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant.
Martello has made remarkable achievements in her career. As Nestle’s representative, as she brings a “female multi-ethnic, emerging-market/Asian face to the world.” She was a former CFO of Nestle, the world’s largest food company. As CEO of Nestle’s sprawling AOA region, Martello oversees a $15 billion division that spans 92 countries and enlists 110,000 employees. In that role, she has helped the world’s largest food company get back on its feet after food safety scares in India in 2015, involving its popular Maggi noodle product, plunged the business into crisis. Prior to her appointment at Nestle, she worked at Walmart Stores Incorporations since 2005 where she had the following roles; she was an Executive Vice President of Global eCommerce, she was also an executive Vice president of the Emerging Markets at Walmart, COO, Global e-commerce; and Senior Vice President, CFO and Strategy for Walmart International.
Her financial experience includes work at NCH Marketing Services, Borden Foods Corp. and Kraft Foods, Inc. Wan Ling Martello is a highly intellectual figure as she is fluent in English, Mandarin, Hokkien Chinese, and Tagalog.
Due to the extraordinary excellence exhibited by her, she was appointed by the Board of Directors of Nestlé S.A, the largest food company in the world, to succeed Jim Singh when he retired on March 31, 2012, as Executive Vice President (EVP) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Nestlé. The appointment of Wan Ling Martello, a company outsider, took some analysts by surprise although; those who know Ms. Martello and her proven track record of accomplishments in the business world were not. For over 20 years, Ms.Martello has been playing a leading role in some of the world’s biggest companies. Since 2005, she has been a key leader at Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retail chain. She is currently Executive Vice President of Global e-Commerce; Wan Ling Martello manages one of Wal-Mart’s fastest-growing business segments Emerging Markets. From 2005-2011, Wan Ling gained in-depth knowledge of the retail and e-commerce business at Walmart where she was Senior Vice President, Chief Finance Officer & Strategy, Walmart International and then Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Global e-Commerce, Emerging Markets. In 2008, she was honoured by the Asian Women in Business (AWIB) with a Corporate Leadership Award. In which multi-cultural markets is certainly a factor in her appointment as EVP/CFO of Nestle. Wan Ling is an active Board Member of the Committee of 100, a national organization of Chinese American leaders. She is also a member of the International Women’s Forum. Wan Ling has presented herself as a ladder through which other businessmen and women can climb in order to attain their long-desired success. Even as she mentors others with the belief that to be a truly successful leader, you need to help others succeed; she gives this advice to women in the co-operate world: “you are the master of your own destiny and never forget it is just as important to help others to succeed as well”.
