Coca-Cola and Molson Coors are among the companies welcoming new faces to top jobs.
Coca-Cola and Molson Coors are among the companies welcoming new faces to top jobs.
Molson Coors Beverage Company has appointed Natalie Maciolek chief legal and government affairs officer, effective Sept. 5.
Maciolek most recently served as senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary at Kohler Co. since 2018 and served in other legal roles at the company since 2013. She will become a member of Molson Coors’ leadership team, based in Chicago, reporting to CEO Gavin Hattersley.
Maciolek, in her role as Molson Coors’ top lawyer, will be responsible for all legal matters, including corporate governance, securities law and regulatory compliance, as well as the company’s government affairs.
A graduate of Georgetown University, Maciolek earned her juris doctor from the University of Wisconsin Law School. She spent nine years as an associate and partner at Quarles & Brady LLP. While in law school, she interned as a legal clerk at Miller Brewing Company.
At Kohler, Maciolek was part of the company’s leadership team, working closely with its businesses, providing strategic and practical advice. She serves as the campaign cabinet member of the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County and is an active member of the American Bar Association, State Bar of Wisconsin and Association of Corporate Counsel.
Coca-Cola India announced the appointment of Irene Tan as the Vice President, Human Resources for India & Southwest Asia (INSWA).
In her new role, Irene will be accelerating INSWA's growth by recruiting future-ready talent, performance enablement and employee development for the company in India and Southwest Asia.
Irene joined the company in 2012 in Singapore as a talent sourcing consultant for the Asia Pacific Group. She became the lead talent acquisition partner for Greater China & Korea and moved to Shanghai. In this capacity, she initiated campus recruitments for management trainees, a signature program for China, advancing both gender and generational diversity for the business.
As Executive Recruiting Director in Singapore in 2015, she worked on multiple executive search mandates across the Asia Pacific including Bottling Investment Group (BIG).
In 2020, she was appointed as the Talent & Development (T&D) Director for Asia Pacific and was part of the global T&D Leadership team, responsible for advancing the talent agenda and developing a diversity succession pipeline. She brought to life the Learning and Enterprise Capability initiatives in the region.
Prior to joining Coca-Cola, Irene was associated with Spencer Stuart, an international executive search firm. She holds a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree from the National University of Singapore.
Simon Shelbourn, former finance leader at Arla Foods and County Milk Products, joins the board of directors at UK wine and spirits supplier Kingsland Drinks Group this month: taking the newly created role of Chief Financial Officer.
Shelbourn brings over 30 years of FMCG finance experience to the Group, having led senior teams in similarly diverse and complex businesses. He will take full responsibility for the firm’s Finance and IT functions, encompassing Kingsland Drinks and its purpose-led spirits arm, Ten Locks. Shelbourn will lead a strong existing team in line with the long-term company vision - to build a better drinks industry and society.
Shelbourn joins the firm following a raft of senior additions to its leadership team. Mark Riley, former Commercial Director at Bibendum, part of the C&C Group, and Andy Henderson, who has occupied a wealth of long-standing positions across FMCG firms, joined the Group late last year as Commercial Director and Operations Director, respectively.
Kingsland Drinks Group moved to an employee-owned model in 2021 and has invested in its capabilities and infrastructure to become a full-service drinks company. In July 2022, the firm created its own craft spirit facility providing Kingsland Drinks and its sister company Ten Locks with the ability to produce artisan spirits onsite in Irlam, Greater Manchester.
Roger White, Chief Executive of Scotland-headquartered soft drinks company A.G. Barr, has agreed with the Board of Directors that he will, at a mutually agreed date in the next 12 months, step down from his role as CEO, resign as a director of the company and retire from the company.
The Board will immediately commence a formal succession process including an external search to ensure a smooth leadership transition.
Mark Allen, A.G. Barr Chairman, said “Roger has served the shareholders, Board, wider business and industry for over 21 years - this makes him one of the longest serving CEO’s in the UK public market. He has supported the transformation of the business from a regional soft drinks business into a highly successful multi beverage, branded company that has delivered significant value to shareholders, stakeholders and employees. A.G. Barr has a strong culture and momentum and is strategically well placed to continue to deliver for the long term”.
Roger White joined A.G. Barr as managing director in 2002 and was appointed chief executive in 2004. He previously held numerous senior positions in food group Rank Hovis McDougall and is a past president of the British Soft Drinks Association.
The Elevated Spirits Company - producer of the 100% natural, additive-free Cierto Tequila portfolio – has announced the appointment of its senior leadership team of seasoned industry executives, with decades of collective experience leading premium global beverage businesses.
Ami-Lynn Bakshi, a 28-year spirits industry veteran with extensive senior executive experience in both the corporate and entrepreneurial sectors, will join as Chief Executive Officer of Elevated Spirits. Bakshi, a 21-year Diageo alumna, brings a depth of experience within premium agave spirits. As Vice President of Marketing for Tequila, she led the world’s largest tequila trademarks to breakthrough growth within a highly competitive and rapidly growing segment. As Vice President of Innovation for North America, she led the development and delivery of Diageo’s multi-year innovation platform. Most recently, Bakshi co-founded and led two successful new ventures in beverage alcohol.
At The Elevated Spirits Company, Bakshi will be charged with spearheading the continued expansion of Cierto Tequila, which the company claims is ‘the most awarded tequila in history, which recently became the first tequila to exceed the unprecedented milestone of 750 international accolades, with 762 medals and awards to date.’
Rounding out the leadership team are Jim Ruane – Chief Growth Officer, a former Diageo Vice President who spent 10 years leading some of the world’s largest, best-known and fastest-growing premium spirits brands, in addition to serving as a venture-brand board member; Laurence Wolfe – Chief Operating Officer, who led end-to-end supply chain operations for Heineken USA as Chief Supply Chain Officer and for Pernod Ricard Americas as Head of Supply Chain, before joining Acreage Holdings as Senior Vice President of Manufacturing and Supply Chain; and Neal Simons – Chief Financial Officer, who led Glanbia Performance Nutrition’s North America finance function as well as corporate transformation initiatives as Vice President.
The leadership team also includes Tony Spinelli – Head of Sales, whose 24-year beverage career includes 16 years with Diageo, most recently leading programming and relationships with its largest customers as Vice President of Strategic Accounts; Richard Booth – Head of Distribution, who led one of Southern Glazers Wine & Spirits’ top markets as Vice President, General Manager South Florida for 35 years and also served as President of Drake’s Organic Spirits Company; and Ken Ruff – Head of Strategic Accounts, On-Premise, who held several executive sales and strategic positions with Beam Suntory during his 35-year tenure, most recently the Vice President of National Accounts, On-Premise.
UK spirits distributor Mangrove Global has expanded its marketing team with the appointment of four new spirits specialists.
The expansion of ‘team purple’ comes soon after Mangrove was bought by French conglomerate, Groupe Bernard Hayot (GBH), bringing it into the fold of the SPIRIBAM portfolio.
The first spirits aficionado joining the team is Alberto Spolverato, who takes on the role as Brand Manager for Molinari, Giffard, Pampelle, and Don Q. His experience includes Italian based Montenegro Group, where he developed and implemented marketing strategies for brands such as Amaro Montenegro and Select Aperitivo.
Joining team purple as Brand Manager for Mark Anthony brands, Bearface, and Glendalough as well as Portobello Road Distillery, Louis Royer, True Believers and Casa Lumbre brands is Stefanie Vigilante. Vigilante carved out her spirits expertise at Axiom Brands, and has held with previous roles in experiential events.
Kristal Roach becomes Mangrove’s new Brand Manager for the company’s whisk(e)y portfolio. With experience of marketing in the hospitality sector before moving to the spirits industry, Roach’s most recent role was with Tampa Bay based Stansfeld Scott, a distributor bringing premium spirits, wine, and consumer products to 35 islands across the Caribbean.
Ashera Goonewardene joins the company from SPIRIBAM, representing its various rum and rhum brands. Described as a ‘bit of a boffin’ on all things Rhum Agricole, she has been a vocal promoter of the category across the on-trade. An award-winning bartender in her own right, Mangrove’s new Brand Ambassador/Manager will join the team as an advocate of French-Caribbean spirits.
The team is led by Joel Defries, who joined in early 2020 from boutique vodka distillery Our/London.
