Bacardi’s North America president resigns

Bacardi’s president of North America Robert Furniss-Roe has resigned from his post to “pursue other opportunities”.

Robert Furniss-Roe has stepped down as president of Bacardi North America

Furniss-Roe, 50, who has held the position since 2011, will be replaced by Peter J. Carr, who was most recently executive vice president for US distributor Glazer’s and previously held executive roles at Diageo.

“Pete possesses an extraordinary mix of spirits, wine, beer and non-alcoholic beverage knowledge with a proven leadership track record of increasing profits in the marketplace,” said Bacardi’s interim CEO Michael Dolan.

“Combined with his strong relationship and team-building skills and keen understanding of both the supplier and wholesale sides of the industry, I’m confident he will have a positive impact and drive results in our largest market.”

Furniss-Roe, who joined Bacardi in 1989, will remain as an advisor to Dolan for an “extended period of time”.

“We thank Robert for his extraordinary dedication to Bacardi and for helping us build our business around the world,” added Dolan.

“Under Robert’s leadership Bacardi saw rapid growth in Russia, expansion in South America, the development of new markets such as India, and the launch of successful innovations in North America.”

Dolan, a former executive at IMG, was appointed interim CEO of Bacardi in May this year following the retirement Ed Shirley, who was in the role for two years.

Only a few hours after Bacardi announced Furniss-Roe’s departure, the Bermuda-based group revealed that Derek Hopkins, national sales director for its US business, had also resigned.

He will be succeeded by Rich Andrews, who will lead the commercial and customer marketing activities across the US and Canada.