Dean Foods Company has promoted Shaun Mara, currently the company's senior vice president and chief accounting officer, to the role of chief financial officer, effective Dec. 1. He succeeds Jack Callahan, who has accepted a similar position as CFO of another publicly traded company.

Mara has been with the company since June 2010, most recently serving as senior vice president of finance for the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, a subsidiary of Mars, Inc., where he had responsibility for corporate reporting, global finance, and post-merger integration functions. Prior to the acquisition of the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company by Mars, Mara also served as corporate controller and chief accounting officer and oversaw all accounting, SEC financial filings, and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance matters.

Prior to joining Wrigley, Mara held senior corporate finance positions with The Gillette Company. He also has past experience with Staples and KPMG.

To assure a seamless transition, Callahan will remain with the company until Nov. 30 .