Fourth-generation Bill Wrigley Jr. took over in 1999 and revived the gum giant

William Wrigley Jr. was named president and CEO in March 1999, days after his father died, making him the fourth generation of the family to head the company since its founding in 1891. He was 36, and the world's largest gum maker was conservative, carried no debt and had not produced a successful new product in about a decade while the US gum business slowed.

The younger Wrigley's answer was to modernize. The company pushed new products like Orbit and Eclipse, expanded aggressively abroad, and in 2004-05 spent more than $1.4 billion buying Life Savers and Altoids from Kraft. Sales grew from $2.02 billion in 1999 to $5.39 billion by 2007, with a presence in more than 140 countries.

The expansion had its turbulent years — the Kraft deal was debt-funded and the stock fell sharply in 2005-06, leading the company to name its first outsider CEO while Bill Wrigley stayed chairman. In 2008 the family agreed to sell to Mars.

Sales rose from $2.02 billion in 1999 to $5.39 billion in 2007, and Mars bought the company for $23 billion — $80 a share — ending four generations of family control.

The gum market was maturing, so growth had to come from new products and acquisitions.

Being conservative and under-leveraged had left Wrigley slow to innovate.

Bill Wrigley Jr. pushed brands like Orbit, Eclipse, Altoids and Life Savers to reach new customers.

A mature family brand can be renewed by a next-generation leader willing to launch new products and buy adjacent brands — even if the payoff comes as a sale.

Mars closed the $23 billion deal in October 2008 with Berkshire Hathaway taking a $2.1 billion minority stake. Wrigley became a subsidiary with its headquarters in Chicago, ending a century of family control, and Bill Wrigley Jr. joined the combined company's board.