Bacardi names new president of Europe

Bacardi has made further changes to its executive team by naming Paolo Perego, the group’s former regional president for Latin America and the Caribbean, as its regional president for Europe.

Paolo Perego has been appointed regional president of Europe for Bacardi

Perego will succeed Stefan Bomhard, who has left Bacardi to accept the role of chief executive of car manufacturer Inchcape PLC. Bomhard will remain with the group until the end of March to assist the transition.

Perego, who first joined Bacardi in 2012, will now be responsible for leading all commercial operations in Europe.

“Paolo has a passionate leadership style that is driven by putting the consumers first in all that we do,” said Bacardi CEO Mike Dolan.

“His knowledge of Bacardi, coupled with his extensive background in strategy and commercial operations while overseeing rapid growth in markets including those in South America, Europe, the Caribbean, Central America and the Middle East will have an immediate impact on our business.”

Dolan added that under the leadership of Bomhard, Bacardi had doubled the size of its premium business in Europe, despite a “challenging economic environment”.

Before joining Bacardi, Perego served at Italian drinks group Gruppo Campari for more than 20 years across a variety of commercial, marketing and executive roles.

His appointment follows that of Dmitry “Dima” Ivanov, previously Bacardi’s global category director of rums, who was named chief marketing officer for the group as Andy Gibson stepped down from the role.

Just days later, Bacardi confirmed its interim CEO Mike Dolan – former head of IMG – would continue to lead the group on a permanent basis.

He succeeded Ed Shirley, who retired from the role after just two years.

The group has experienced a series of setbacks in its executive team over the past year, with Shirley, chief financial officer Joseph Schena, and North America president Robert Furniss-Roe all exiting the company.