Diageo, Molson Coors and Britvic are among the companies welcoming new faces to top jobs.
Diageo, Molson Coors and Britvic are among the companies welcoming new faces to top jobs.
Sir Ivan Menezes has decided to retire as Chief Executive Officer and depart from the Diageo Board on 30 June 2023, following ten years leading the company.
Debra Crew, currently Chief Operating Officer, will be appointed Chief Executive Officer and join the Diageo Board, effective 1 July 2023.
Menezes joined London-headquartered Diageo through the merger of Guinness plc and Grand Metropolitan plc in 1997 and has held a number of senior positions in the business including Chief Operating Officer; President, Diageo North America; Chairman, Diageo Asia Pacific; and Chairman, Diageo Latin America and Caribbean. He has been an Executive Director of Diageo since July 2012 and has served as Chief Executive Officer since July 2013.
“Diageo has grown significantly during this period, now selling over 200 brands in more than 180 markets and is today, the number one company by net sales value in Scotch whisky, vodka, gin, rum, Canadian whisky, liqueurs, and also tequila, a category in which only eight years ago the company had no substantive position,” says the company. “And in December 2022, Guinness became the number one beer in the on-trade in Great Britain for the first time.”
In January 2023, Menezes was awarded a Knighthood for services to Business and to Equality in His Majesty The King’s 2023 New Year Honours List.
Prior to being appointed Chief Operating Officer in October 2022, Debra Crew was President, Diageo North America and Global Supply, leading Diageo’s largest market to 14% organic net sales growth in fiscal 2022, following on from 20% organic net sales growth in the prior year. Crew originally joined the Diageo Board as a Non-Executive Director in April 2019, before stepping down from the Board when appointed President, Diageo North America in July 2020.
Crew is the former President and CEO of Reynolds American, Inc., where she delivered strong performance growth before the company’s acquisition, having previously served as President and Chief Operating Officer, and President and Chief Commercial Officer. Prior to that, she spent five years at PepsiCo, where she served as President, North America Nutrition; President, PepsiCo Americas Beverages; and President, Western Europe Region.
Prior to PepsiCo, Crew held positions with Kraft Foods, Nestlé S.A. and Mars, Inc.
She is a graduate of the University of Denver, earned an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and previously served as an officer in the United States Army. She currently serves on the board of Stanley Black & Decker, Inc., having previously served on the boards of Newell Brands and Mondēlez International.
Heartland Coca-Cola Bottling Company – a Coca-Cola bottler in the US Midwest – has announced that Charles (Chuck) Wyant has expanded his leadership role at the company with his promotion to president and chief operating officer.
Wyant was a member of the founding leadership team for Heartland, joining the company in 2017 as vice president and general manager, and was named president in 2021. He came to Heartland with more than 30 years of experience in the Coca-Cola Bottling system, all of that time in the Midwest.
In his expanded role, Wyant will assume oversight of business operations and work closely on strategic planning with the Bridgeman ownership group. He will continue to lead sales, operations, finance, marketing, public affairs and communications, human resources, production, legal and technology (IT). The company serves over 25,000 customers and employs more than 2,200 team members.
Heartland is building a 600,000-square-foot production campus in neighboring Olathe, Kan., which is scheduled to open and produce the first case off the line in late 2024.
WES Brands – the company launched after the $610m sale to Diageo of Aviation American Gin – has appointed Shawn Thurman as chief executive officer, alongside a slate of other executive hires.
The formation of the WES Brands’ leadership team comes at a ‘pivotal moment’ as the company focuses on the growth of its existing brands (Mark Wahlberg-back Flecha Azul Tequila and Jamie Foxx’s BSB Flavored Whiskey) and soon-to-launch spirits brands.
Shawn Thurman joins WES Brands from Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits, where he held the position of Executive Vice President, National Accounts.
Additionally, Sean Penn, a founding WES Brands team member who oversaw the company through its inception, has been appointed President and Chief Operating Officer. Before joining WES Brands, Penn spent nearly three decades building iconic spirits brands with Diageo North America (Senior Vice President, General Manager – Spirits and VP National Sales Manager – Wines), and Milestone Brands (Vice President – US Sales and Commercial Development).
WES Brands’ new executive leadership hires include Kyle Stein as President (formerly Director of Commercial Insights & Strategies at Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits), Lauren Ryan-Kiyak as Senior Vice President of Marketing (formerly Head of Marketing at Charles Jacquin et Cie, and held senior roles with STOLI Group, Pernod Ricard, and Remy Cointreau) and Chris Jebbia as Senior Vice President of Finance (formerly Senior Manager of Commercial Finance at Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits).
The Irish Beverage Council (IBC), the Ibec group that represents the non-alcohol beverage industry, has appointed Agnese Filippi, Country Manager of Coca-Cola Ireland, as the new Chair of the IBC.
As IBC Chair, Agnese Filippi will be responsible for representing an industry employing over 3,500 people directly and supporting an additional 3,000 jobs indirectly.
Agnese Filippi has been the Country Manager of Coca-Cola Ireland since 2021 and in this role is responsible for meeting the evolving needs of consumers, positioning the organisation to drive success in the marketplace and ensuring continued delivery of the company’s long-term growth and success in Ireland.
Commenting on her appointment, Agnese Filippi, Country Manager of Coca-Cola Ireland and now Chair of The Irish Beverage Council said: “I am delighted to take on the role as Chair of the IBC at what is a crucial time for all of us operating in the industry. As the sector continues to navigate changing consumer demands and rising costs as well as economic uncertainty, the IBC is a vital partnership platform that enables industry to work together and grow into the future.
“Over the next two years, our industry is committed to working with policymakers and the broader business ecosystem to continue our growth journey while also taking firm action to achieve a net-zero future. This includes supporting Government in helping to introduce the Deposit Return Scheme which will become operational early next year.”
IBC members come from across the supply chain from agriculture to manufacturing, packing, transport and logistics, retail, hospitality, and tourism. The industry generates an annual economic value of some €1.5bn ($1.6bn).
UK soft drink company Britvic has appointed Rebecca Napier to the Board as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director.
She will lead the finance function across all Britvic’s markets as well as chair the ESG Committee.
Napier is currently Chief Financial Officer at British Airways, where she has held a variety of financial roles over the last 16 years. Her BA career included roles for the broader IAG entity, where she sits on the IAG Loyalty and IAG Cargo boards in parallel to her BA role. She started her career at Deloitte, having qualified as a Chartered Accountant, before she joined British Airways in audit at a time when the company was listed in both the UK and the US.
“In recent years, in her role as British Airways CFO, she has demonstrated both resilience and intellectual rigour in her approach to build the BA business back to profitability post covid. Her ability to do this within an inflationary environment is testament to her highly commercial CFO style and her significant experience as a strategic business partner,” says Britvic.
Napier will replace Joanne Wilson, who will be leaving the company shortly, as previously announced.
Molson Coors has appointed Hannah Norbury as marketing director, western Europe.
In her role, which oversees all Molson Coors brands in the UK and western Europe, Norbury will be responsible for marketing strategy and investment across the portfolio.
Norbury joined the business in March from her previous role as marketing director for Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I. She was appointed as marketing director for Ribena at GlaxoSmithKline in 2013 and continued in the role after it was bought by Suntory. She was named marketing director of the entire portfolio in 2018.
Norbury replaces Ali Pickering, who left the business after 23 years in February to set up her own consultancy.
