Nespresso and Naked Wines are among the companies welcoming new faces to top jobs.
Nespresso and Naked Wines are among the companies welcoming new faces to top jobs.
Pic: getty/parradeekietsirikul
Naked Wines has announced its Group Chief Executive Officer (Designate), Rodrigo Maza: a former AB InBev and Grupo Modelo executive.
Maza, Naked’s UK Managing Director since September 2023, will work side-by-side with Rowan Gormley, Executive Chairman, over the next several months to ensure a successful transition, after which he will assume the Group CEO role permanently and Rowan will resume his previous role as Non-Executive Chairman.
Maza will join the Board of Naked with immediate effect.
Prior to Naked, Maza launched and scaled several on-line delivery businesses for alcoholic beverages across a range of e-commerce and subscription models, including AB InBev's TaDa Delivery in Latin America and PerfectDraft in Western Europe. He also held various executive roles at Grupo Modelo S.A. de C.V. and AB InBev.
Naked has also appointed Emma Kamel, formerly COO of the UK business, to succeed Maza as General Manager of the UK business. Emma has over six years of experience with Naked, rising through the organization including as Commercial and Supply Chain Director.
Online wine retailer Naked Wines has operations in the UK, US and Australia.
Pic:getty/klausvedfelt
WES Brands is expanding its leadership team and commercial organization. Todd May, the former Senior Director of Sales at Constellation Brands, joins WES Brands as the company’s new Senior Vice President of Sales to support the national expansion of Aspen Vodka and its fast-growing portfolio, including Flecha Azul Tequila, BSB Flavored Whiskey, and Fraser & Thompson.
May is a 20-year veteran of the wine and spirits industry who started his career at RNDC in various sales-related roles, followed by five years with Constellation Brands, where he most recently served as Senior Director of Sales.
Meanwhile, the company has appointed Joel Castillo as Senior Brand Director of Aspen Vodka and Flecha Azul Tequila. An innovative marketing, business, and organizational leader, Joel comes with a decade-long career at companies like Moet Hennessy USA & Pernod Ricard.
Founded in 2021, WES Brands develops, markets and sells innovative brands in the beverage alcohol category.
Nespresso Professional has appointed Nick Stevens as B2B Commercial Director for the UK and Republic of Ireland (ROI).
Stevens joined the company in May 2017, and will continue to steer the Nespresso Professional teams by growing the B2B division across various commercial areas including HORECA and Office commerce.
Stevens moved to Nespresso Professional from Nestle Waters, where he held responsibility for the HORECA channel. Prior to this, Nick worked in the hotel industry, as a director in sales and marketing, where he was responsible across numerous sectors of the business, including revenue, marketing, and partnership as well as roles at the Morgans Hotel Group and The May Fair Hotel.
As B2B Commercial Director, Nick will continue to be responsible for building relationships with businesses across Nespresso Professional’s key sectors – HORECA and office – as well as developing and implementing commercial strategy and growth.
Nespresso Professional offers businesses tailored services to provide their customers with quality coffee at every sip. The professional division of the business works with over 8000 business across the UK and Ireland.
Nine in 10 office workers see coffee as an important part of their morning ritual, according to Nestle research.
The Brewers Association – the US trade association for small independent brewers – has appointed Matt Gacioch as its new staff economist.
Gacioch will bring analytics experience and expertise to the organization, allowing the association to build new capabilities in the data it provides for members.
Matt is already well known at the BA for his contributions as its sustainability ambassador and his participation as an intern for craftbeer.com in 2011. Beyond that, his roles have included director of operations at WixOpens, growth operations manager at Sonder, and director of sustainability and marketing at Short’s Brewing.
These skills - plus an MBA in strategy and finance from the University of Michigan - make him the ideal candidate to spearhead the BA’s economic and statistical initiatives.
Gacioch joins BA chief economist Bart Watson and will be based in Boulder, Colorado.
The Hemp Beverage Alliance welcomes cannabis and hemp regulatory specialist Michelle Bodian as general counsel.
“Michelle and Vicente LLP were early supporters of the Hemp Beverage Alliance and have been instrumental in getting us where we are today,” said Christopher Lackner, founder and president, Hemp Beverage Alliance. “We are thrilled to officially add her to our leadership team and look forward to working together to grow the Alliance and the industry.”
Bodian serves as a partner in Vicente LLP’s Boston and New York offices, where she is co-chair of the firm’s Hemp and Cannabinoids Department and is a leading member of the firm’s cannabis licensing and regulatory compliance efforts in Connecticut and New York. In addition, Michelle leads the firm’s Environment, Health & Safety practice group.
Founded in 2023, the Hemp Beverage Alliance is an association of over 140 brands, distributors, supply chain partners, professional service providers, associations and retailers.