Book of Memories of
Richard Butterwick
It’s with a very heavy heart that we say goodbye to our dear friend and colleague, Richard. For those of us who had the privilege of knowing him, we’ll remember not just a brilliant mind, but an incredibly warm and kind soul who will be deeply missed. Richard had a special gift for making people feel seen and heard. He was always generous with his time, offering support and encouragement to everyone he met.
His journey with Mars began in 1991 at the Waltham Petcare Science Institute, where throughout his career he was a respected voice in pet nutrition for all of Petcare. The work he led in areas like obesity and gastrointestinal health in pets has left a lasting impact on the entire pet care community.
In 2018, Richard was honored with the Mars R&D Award for Lifetime Contribution, a testament to his unwavering dedication. This award recognized what we all knew: Richard proudly lived the Five Principles, with a passion for creating a Better World for Pets.
But beyond the accolades and achievements, we’ll remember Richard as a proud family man. His wife, Sarah, and their three children, Oscar, Felix, and Eliza, were the centre of his world. Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with them during this incredibly difficult time.
Richard’s legacy of kindness, generosity, and unwavering dedication will continue to inspire us all. He will be dearly missed.
Book Owner: The Waltham Leadership Team
Book Size:Â 200 Messages
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Kate Fisher
It was an absolute pleasure to know Richard, he was such a kind man. There is a Richard shaped hole in the heart of Waltham, he was a truly wonderful human being, respected and admired by everyone who knew him. I’ll treasure my memories of our time working together. Sending love and strength to Richard’s family. xxxx…
Laurie & Alex Horsfall
When we reflect on a person within Mars that has individually impacted both our career and our view of what a leader should be, we would both answer Richard. He quietly and without ego offered guidance, support, advcacy and a safe space to many including us, and we remember him for his genorosity of taking time to connect with people. …
Carina Salt
Over the nearly 20 years we worked together, Richard was a great supporter of my work and career at Waltham – always generous with encouragement, curiosity, and sound advice. His backing was instrumental in helping me achieve a long-held ambition to gain a PhD, and he was delighted to hear of its completion, even though he was, by then, already on sick leave. I was deeply saddened to hear of his passing, both professionally and personally, and very sorry to be unable to attend the funeral. RIP, Richard, you will be missed….
Martina Heer
I only had the privilege of knowing Richard for a relatively short time during our two years working together at Waltham Petcare, but in that time he made a lasting impression on me. Richard’s deep scientific expertise in pet nutrition was matched by his intellectual integrity and generosity in sharing knowledge. His work leaves a lasting mark on the field, and those who had the privilege to collaborate with him will remember him as a thoughtful, rigorous, and kind colleague. I remember him as a genuinely kind, thoughtful, and generous colleague, someone who brought warmth and calm into everyday professional interactions. I feel grateful to have worked alongside him and will remember him with fondness and deep respect. …
Esther Bijsmans
I always play a game in workshops: whenever someone comes up with an innovative idea, I try to find out if and when Richard had already thought of it. Nine out of ten times, the idea isn’t new: Richard already had it. Often, 10 years before Mars felt ready to act. Absolutely brilliant, ahead of his time, creative, practical, meticulous, and with pets and science at the heart of everything he did. I think it’s fair to say he has in some way positively influenced every single product we have on the market today, and no doubt for years to come. There is a mountain of Richard-ideas that at some point we will be ready for, and I promise I will continue bringing the ones I know of to workshops and innovation team meetings. The world has lost a Superman, and I miss working and brainstorming with you. …
Anna Alexander
Richard was truly one of the kindest, most thoughtful, and helpful individuals I have had the privilege of knowing during my career at Mars. Over more than 20 years of working together, I was continually impressed by his expertise and generosity in sharing his knowledge. It was a genuine pleasure to collaborate with Richard, and I am grateful for all that he taught me. I will always remember the sense of accomplishment we shared when, after ten years, we finally achieved the 10% rule in MPENS for C&Ts. Richard’s presence will be greatly missed, and my heartfelt thoughts are with his family during this difficult time….
Jérôme Gays
Richard was a great and unique colleague I had the luck to work with over the last 20 years and I will deeply miss him. Not only he was a very talented and respected Nutritional Advisor for Petcare, he was always approachable, listening and looking for creating the best conditions to raise the bar on Mars Petcare products nutrition. I had the chance to work closely with him on MPENS and Nutritional Conformance Standard implementation and evolution in particular. He leaves a strong legacy we’ll honor thinking about him. Every time we had the luck to travel to Waltham, we spent unique moments with him getting robust knowledge about nutrition of Cats and Dogs to apply in business processes, always much more engaged and energized by moments spent with Richard. We developed a friendly relationship over time and I’ll remember Richard for a long time, being certainly sad when I think about sending him a birthday message on July 14th or sharing cycling or vacations pictures … All my thoughts go with his family to go through those difficult moments. …
Petra Hellweg
It is very hard to believe that you are no longer with us. You were an inexhaustible source of knowledge and experience—someone we could always turn to, knowing we would receive a thoughtful and well-founded answer. Working with you was defined by respect and professionalism, but also always by warmth and humor. Your sense of humor brought a touch of lightness even to the most serious topics. You were also someone who consistently placed animal welfare at the very center, truly living our shared vision. The way you spoke about your dog—even that brief moment when he made himself heard during our calls — reflected your deep love for animals. I wish your loved ones strength and comfort as they navigate their grief. It is impossible to imagine how deeply your loss will be felt. Wishing you peace, and all the very best….
Phil McGenity
Richard was an outstanding colleague who combined great knowledge of his areas of expertise with deep empathy and a great sense of humour. It was always a pleasure to meet with and speak to Richard. I was deeply saddened to hear of his passing. My condolences to his family….
Claudia Chow
I was blessed to meet Richard within the first few weeks of starting at Mars almost 26 years ago and I learned a lot from him, helping me adapt and apply my knowledge of human nutrition to pet nutrition. Over these years, we collaborated on numerous projects with the biggest one surely being to implement the MPENS standard in Europe, one of his lasting legacies not only for Mars but for the Petcare industry. I will miss Richard deeply, not just as a fellow Martian, but as a warm and funny human. I am grateful for having known him. …
Jonathan Elliott
My association with the Waltham Centre began soon after Richard joined – it has been such a pleasure for me to work collaboratively with Richard over the years. He was always interested in your views making you feel they were valuable to the problem being investigated. This is so important when bringing together people from different disciplines and from different sectors. To be able to run multidisciplinary projects requires these skills and is the way in which science needs to be done if it is to make significant break throughs. Richard’s ability to bring together experts from different fields and integrate their views and opinions made him an excellent project leader. Veterinary applied research is the poorer for his loss. My sincere condolences to his family Jonathan Elliott Professor of Clinical Pharmacology, The Royal Veterinary College …
Scott McGrane
My thoughts and condolences are with Richard’s family and friends at this very diffiuclt and sad time. One of my first memories of Richard was when I moved to Waltham in 2002. I was starting the work on macronutrient profiles for dogs. When I was discussing the project with my Line Manager he said, “You must talk to Richard Butterwick about it before you start to get his input!”. More recently, I worked with Richard on alterntaive proteins, where we had many interesting and thought-provoking discussions. Richard had a huge amount of knowledge and experience and was very well-respcted in the Pefood buisness, both internally and externally to Mars. Thank you, Richard, for your professionl contributions and friendship. RIP – you will be missed….
Ian Thomas
Richard was a lovely bloke. Whenever I went to the UK and to Waltham we always had a morning run together. At the end of the day a beer. He always greeted me with ” how the bloody he’ll are you” because I am an Aussie. RIP Richard…
Aila
Richard was not only an exceptional leader but also an inspiring human being who profoundly impacted both my life and career. His unwavering support and guidance played a crucial role in my professional growth, while his kindness and integrity set a standard for all of us to aspire to. Richard’s legacy of leadership and compassion will continue to inspire me and many others. My heart goes out to his family, friends, and everyone who was lucky enough to know him….
Maria New
I worked at Waltham with Richard for over 25 years and from the moment I joined the team his ability to connect with people across the whole team was so evident. He was really approachable, friendly and had a zest for life. We often connected over the years as parents, sharing our stories as out children went through the teenage years and beyond. In particular Richard was a great support to me when my son was diagnosed with T1 Diabetes. As his daughter was also T1 we were able to share our hopes and fears. He was so proud of how well his daughter Eliza managed her condition and lit up when talking about all three of his children. My thoughts and prayers are with them now and his wife Sarah and I hope the joy he brought them in life may continue to shine, always. I am glad that my path crossed with such a special man….
