Pernod Ricard Announces Significant Organizational Changes, Executive Transfers

Beverage alcohol giant Pernod Ricard today announced significant organizational changes, including a number of executive transfers.

Pernod Ricard has simplified its business in the Americas region to concentrate on the U.S. and Canada, according to a press release. This new entity will have a direct representative on Pernod Ricard’s Executive Committee (COMEX) to strengthen its focus on the U.S.

Pernod Ricard also created two “Management Entities” aligned with the Pernod Ricard EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) model. One entity has Mexico as lead market, together with Venezuela, Colombia and Pernod Ricard Andes (Chile, Peru); and the other has Brazil as lead market, together with Argentina and Uruguay.

The two new Management Entities will report to Pernod Ricard EMEA and will “leverage the region’s expertise on emerging markets,” according to a press release. These new entities will be led by Noël Adrian, Managing Director of Pernod Ricard Mexico, and Thibault Cuny, Managing Director of Pernod Ricard Brazil.

Lastly, Pernod Ricard has created the position of CEO, Global Travel Retail, reporting directly to the main headquarters. This new position will “reinforce coordination between the three Travel Retail regions (Europe, Americas and Asia) and the domestic Travel Retail teams, facilitate the rollout of best practices and improve the coherence of Group initiatives in this priority distribution channel,” according to a press release.

All these operational changes will entail the following executive transfers:

• Paul Duffy, currently Chairman & CEO of The Absolut Company and a member of the COMEX, is appointed Chairman & CEO of Pernod Ricard North America and CEO of Pernod Ricard USA.
• Philippe Dréano, the current Chairman & CEO of Pernod Ricard Americas, has decided to retire after a career spanning 27 years with the Group.
• Bryan Fry, currently Managing Director, Pernod Ricard USA, is appointed Managing Director, Pernod Ricard Pacific and will report to the Chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard Winemakers. He replaces Julien Hémard, whose new appointment will be announced shortly.
• Anna Malmhake, currently Chairman & CEO of Irish Distillers and a member of the COMEX, is appointed Chairman & CEO of The Absolut Company.
• Jean-Christophe Coutures, currently Chairman & CEO of Pernod Ricard Winemakers and a member of the COMEX, is appointed Chairman & CEO of Irish Distillers.
• Bruno Rain, currently Managing Director in charge of Group Human Resources & Corporate Social Responsibility and a member of the COMEX, is appointed Chairman & CEO of Pernod Ricard Winemakers.
• Cédric Ramat, currently VP Human Resources for Pernod Ricard Americas, is appointed Human Resources and Corporate Social Responsibility Director and will become a member of the COMEX.
• Mohit Lal, currently Managing Director of Pernod Ricard Travel Retail Asia, is appointed Chairman & CEO of Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail in addition to holding his current position, and will become a member of the COMEX.

“Our organization and ways of working must be fully aligned with our top-line growth objective,” said Alexandre Ricard, Pernod Ricard Chairman & CEO, in a press release. “Operational excellence is a prerequisite, with simplification and speed of execution the main drivers.”

Following these changes, the Group’s Executive Committee will now include members of five different nationalities.

“A company’s success depends above all on the women and men who bring it to life. Our Group’s strength comes from these talents of diverse origins and backgrounds and our principle of global mobility, as illustrated by these organizational changes,” Ricard said. “In this spirit, I would like to pay tribute to Philippe Dréano for his unfailing commitment to our Group’s development over the last 30 years”.