Bacardi, Constellation Brands and The Coca-Cola Company are some of the companies welcoming new faces to top jobs.
Bacardi, Constellation Brands and The Coca-Cola Company are some of the companies welcoming new faces to top jobs.
The Alkaline Water Company has appointed attorney David Rauch to its board of directors, welcoming him on November 16.
Mr. Rauch serves on the company’s audit and compensation committees providing expertise drawn from his decades of practicing law as a business and franchise attorney and serving in executive roles.
Mr. Rauch is the President and General Counsel of Annexus, which creates retirement income products. He had previously served as Chief Operating Officer as well. From 1993 to 2012, he was a partner at Snell and Wilmer, handling business and franchise litigation. He received his JD from the University of California – Los Angeles (Order of the Coif) and has a B.S. in Finance from San Diego State University (summa cum laude and the Outstanding Finance Graduate of 1988).
David is involved with The Thunderbirds, the host organization of the WM Phoenix Open golf tournament. He served as Tournament Chairman in 2010. He was previously heavily involved in the Special Olympics of Arizona and is the Immediate Past Chair of the Barrow Neurological Foundation. He and his wife Julie support Thunderbird Charities, Barrow, and The Board of Visitors, the oldest women’s charitable organization in Arizona.
Founded in 2012, The Alkaline Water Company is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. Its flagship product, Alkaline88, is a leading premier alkaline water brand available in bulk and single-serve sizes along with aluminum packaging options.
Casa BACARDÍ Puerto Rico, the brand home of the rum and one of the most popular tourist destinations on the island, has welcomed Gabriel ‘Gabe’ Solano as General Manager, responsible for the complete visitor experience.
The visitor center, located just outside San Juan, Puerto Rico, showcases mixology, stories about the history of the Bacardí family and brand, and an insider’s view of the unique production process for the world’s most awarded rum.
Among the experiences available at Casa BACARDÍ Puerto Rico are the Rum Tasting tour, a tour focused on the tasting and sensory experiences of BACARDÍ rums and a Mixology class, where visitors can learn how to make cocktails.
Gabriel is a hospitality professional, with more than 15 years of management experience in food and beverage, leading teams at some of the finest hotels and institutions in the industry including the Edition in Times Square, the Mandarin Oriental in New York City, and the W in Washington, D.C. Solano graduated from the University of Delaware, where he began his journey in hospitality as a barman, igniting his passion for crafting cocktails and bringing people together with unique drinks experiences.
Constellation Brands has appointed Holly Lukavsky as Senior Vice President, Human Resources – Beer Division.
Lukavsky will oversee the Beer HR team and will be a strategic partner to the Beer Leadership team with responsibility for aligning company and HR initiatives across the Beer Division.
Lukavsky originally joined Constellation in 2012 and held various leadership positions including HR Director, Strategy Director, and Vice President of HR for the Beer Division. In May 2020, she was named Chief Human Resources Officer at Canopy Growth where she led the HR function and served as a member of their Executive Management Committee for over two years before returning to Constellation.
Lukavsky earned her Master of Science in Human Resource Management from DePaul University Kellstadt Graduate School of Business and bachelor’s degree in French from Dartmouth College.
Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits Appoints John Aiello to Vice President, General Manager, Delaware
Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, a US distributor of beverage alcohol, has appointed John Aiello to the role of Vice President, General Manager, Delaware.
Aiello, who reports to Patrick Pokorny, Vice President and General Manager for Maryland and Washington, D.C, is responsible for leading all sales activities in the Delaware market, including but not limited to developing short and long-term strategic planning, establishing sales policies and procedures, introducing new products, and ensuring that training objectives are achieved for all employees.
Aiello has 33 years of experience in the beverage alcohol industry, and during that time, has been a member of the Southern Glazer’s Delaware team for 15 years. Mr. Aiello began his career journey as a Field Marketing Manager at E&J Gallo Winery in 1995. Since then, he has stepped into positions of increasing responsibility and leadership, culminating to his most recent role as Division Director, Off-Premise Channel, Southern Glazer’s of Delaware.
Mr. Aiello is succeeding Jim Miller whose retirement was announced earlier this year.
The Coca-Cola Company has appointed Henrique Braun to the newly created role of President, International Development: with Braun set to oversee seven operating units that span dozens of countries and territories around the world.
Braun will report directly to the company’s CEO, James Quincey, moving into the new role on January 1.
Braun, 54, currently serves as president of the Latin America operating unit, a position he has held since 2020. As a 26-year veteran of the company, he has progressed through a number of roles in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America.
As President, International Development, Braun will have oversight of the Latin America operating unit, along with adding responsibility for six operating units: Japan and South Korea; ASEAN and South Pacific; Greater China and Mongolia; Africa; India and Southwest Asia; and Eurasia and Middle East.
The presidents of these operating units remain unchanged: except for the Latin America operating unit where Braun's successor as president is yet to be named.
Braun has worked in a number of functions during his career at Coca-Cola, including supply chain, new business development, marketing, innovation, general management and bottling operations. He has also been a leader in regional, business unit and corporate functions.
From 2013 to 2016, he served as president of the company’s Greater China & Korea business unit. He was named president of the Brazil business unit in 2016, followed by his current role as president of what was then the newly created Latin America operating unit in 2020.
Braun is a dual citizen of the United States and Brazil. He earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering from the University Federal of Rio de Janeiro. He also has a Master of Science degree from Michigan State University and an MBA from Georgia State University.
Brown‑Forman Corporation has announced that Mark Clouse and Elizabeth (Liz) Smith have been elected to the Board of Directors.
The election of Clouse and Smith brings the number of directors on Brown‑Forman’s Board to 12. Clouse joined the board in November, with Smith joining in January 2023.
Clouse is President and CEO of Campbell Soup Company. He brings more than two decades of experience in the food industry with a track record of delivering revenue and earnings growth and generating significant value for shareholders.
Prior to joining Campbell, Clouse served as CEO and Director of Pinnacle. Previously, at Mondelēz International, he held key roles including Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer, and Executive Vice President, North America. Clouse joined Kraft Foods after serving in the United States Army as a pilot and a captain.
Smith is the former CEO of Bloomin’ Brands and was responsible for developing and executing the company's long-term objectives, growth strategies, and initiatives for its portfolio of casual and fine dining brands. Her leadership was instrumental in the revitalization of the company's core brands, domestically and internationally. Smith also served as Executive Chair and Chairperson of the Bloomin’ Brands Board of Directors. Currently, she serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Bloomin Brands, Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc., USA Fund for UNICEF, and as Chair of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Board.
Prior to Bloomin’ Brands, Smith was President of Avon Products, Inc., where she successfully led the company's global marketing, supply chain, information technology, and sales business units. Smith also worked in several roles at Kraft Foods, Inc., including Group Vice President and President of the U.S. beverages and grocery sectors.
