We take a look at some of the companies welcoming new faces to top jobs.
We take a look at some of the companies welcoming new faces to top jobs.
Campari Group, the sixth-largest spirits company in the world, has announced two leadership changes for key executives Melanie Batchelor and Ugo Fiorenzo. Effective July 1, 2023, these new appointments ‘will help propel Campari America into 2024.’
Following a recent appointment to Managing Director of Sales & RARE for Campari America, Melanie Batchelor will be promoted to Managing Director, Campari America. In this role, Batchelor will lead growth and oversee all functions of the US business.
Batchelor’s 12-year career with Campari to date has helped build strategy for the company’s spirits brands: contributing to Campari’s growth in Australia, Canada, and the US. She has earned multiple promotions through the Campari Group organization, including Vice President Spirits, Global Strategic Marketing, Vice President Marketing, Campari, Managing Director of Campari Canada and, most recently, Managing Director of Sales and RARE Division, Campari America. In her new role, Batchelor will continue to report into Ugo Fiorenzo.
This appointment coincides with another leadership development for Ugo Fiorenzo, Managing Director for the United States and Canada, who after leading the US for the past seven years, oversaw the company as it doubled its size and led its relocation from San Francisco to New York City, will succeed Mauro Caneschi and take on the role of Managing Director, Business Unit Americas.
In this role, he will lead both in-market operations and partnership markets to increase market growth and accelerate brand penetration. Fiorenzo joined Campari America in 2005 and has been instrumental in Campari Group’s ascension as one of the fastest-growing spirits companies.
During his tenure, he held several leadership roles in Trade Marketing & Sales before becoming Market Head in Jamaica, and he earned industry recognition with his 2022 appointment to Chairman of the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS). Fiorenzo will continue to be based in New York City and will oversee Canadian operations until further succession announcements are made.
Belfast-headquartered premium drinks company, Drinksology Kirker Greer (DKG), has appointed Ryan McFarland as its Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer.
In the new role, McFarland will be serving as an Executive Board Member and shaping the business by implementing both brand and geographic expansion strategies in addition to building a world-class team to execute against them at pace.
His career combines a track record of building luxury and premium spirits brands with the development of strategic commercial growth initiatives within the global Alco-Bev sector, most recently as Growth and Innovation Director EMEA & APAC at Molson Coors Beverage Company, having previously served on the Western European Executive team. Ryan’s experience also includes multiple commercial and brand building positions Remy-Cointreau and Bacardi Martini and Brown-Forman.
Steven Pattison, CEO of DKG said: “The business is readying itself for growth, we are investing to make that happen and Ryan’s experience to date suits us perfectly to support this next stage. Having spent over 20 years in the industry, he has gained a great reputation for building high-performing teams and strong customer relationships. He will use this experience to help develop and execute our growth strategies for not only the business but our brands too.”
Ryan McFarland said: “Coming from Northern Ireland myself, it has always been my ambition to take a Belfast-based business to scale globally and I believe DKG has a portfolio of exceptional brands to do this, backed with a solid innovation pipeline, passionate people and a world of untapped opportunity. I am starting to develop a clear strategic direction for the brands on a global scale, with an immediate focus on the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.”
Drinksology Kirker Greer (DKG)’s divisions include Kirker Greer Spirits: which owns, manages, and distributes a range of premium spirit brands internationally. Its portfolio includes brands such as Ukiyo Japanese Spirits, Kirker Shamrock Whiskey, Ginato Italian Gin and Jawbox Irish Gin.
The second division of DKG, Drinksology Creative, is a design, branding, and marketing agency which specialises in the world of alcohol and has worked with brand homes including The Dead Rabbit, New York, The Johnnie Walker Experience, Edinburgh and Roe & Co Distillery, Dublin.
Beer, wine and spirits giant Constellation Brands has announced that Rob Sands will retire from his role as Chair of Constellation’s Board of Directors and will not stand for re-election as Board Chair following the company’s Annual Meeting of Stockholders on July 18, 2023. Sands will continue in his capacity as a Board member for the company.
Sands has served as Constellation’s Board Chair since 2019 and served as the company’s Chief Executive Officer from 2007 to 2019.
“Under Sands’ leadership as Chief Executive Officer and Board Chair, the company has achieved significant growth becoming the leading beer supplier in the high-end of the US beer market, increasing net sales by more than 80%, and becoming one of the fastest growing consumer packaged goods companies over the past decade,” says the company.
Constellation’s Board has engaged in a process to identify a new Board Chair and will provide an update following the company’s Annual Meeting of Stockholders on July 18, 2023.
New York’s Conecuh Brands, a producer and marketer of super premium spirits, has added Steve May to its team.
Steve May – who is the former director of marketing operations for the Jack Daniel’s Distillery – will become Conecuh Brands’ VP/General Manager, reporting to president and CEO Roy Danis.
May’s hire comes ahead of the opening of the new, state-of-the-art Conecuh Ridge Distillery in Troy, Alabama. He will be responsible for both distillery operations and the visitor experience at the new distillery.
The distillery is currently in its second phase of construction and slated for a late Fall 2023 opening, where it will be producing and bottling Clyde May’s Whiskey, the Official State Spirit of Alabama.
Steve May comes to Conecuh Brands from Brown-Forman, where he was the Director of Marketing Operations for the Jack Daniel’s Distillery. During May’s tenure, the Jack Daniel’s Homeplace experienced significant growth in terms of distillery retail sales and saw the annual guest count grow from 191,000 to over 300,000.
As a native Alabamian, and drinker of Clyde May’s Whiskey, May felt it was a natural next step in his career. “Aside from the coincidental overlap in name, which I plan to investigate one day, I was really attracted to the entrepreneurial spirit of Conecuh Brands” says May. “I’ve missed the production side of things quite a bit and am looking forward to jumping back in to help build the Conecuh Ridge distillery into a great tourist destination.”
Alvinesa Natural Ingredients – a Spanish company that upcycles raw material left from wine and olive oil production to create natural ingredients for the food, beverage, nutraceutical and animal health industries – has appointed Jon Fernández De Barrena as its new CEO.
The company’s portfolio includes a wide selection of natural antioxidants (grape and olive extracts rich in polyphenols), natural color (anthocyanins), wine concentrates, natural tartaric acid, and grape seed oil. Alvinesa's core business lies in 'Zero Waste', using 100% of the raw material.