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Patrón chief operations officer to step down
Bacardi has announced that Dave Wilson, global president and chief operations officer of Patrón Spirits International, will retire from the company next month.
L-r: Dave Wilson and Pete Carr
Wilson, who will retire from the Tequila maker on 1 April 2019, will continue as a senior advisor to Patrón.
The announcement comes almost a year after Grey Goose parent company Bacardi, which has owned a minority stake in Patrón since 2008, completed its acquisition of Patrón Spirits International in a deal that valued the Tequila maker at US$5.1 billion.
“During his tremendously successful 40-year career, Dave has made an everlasting imprint in the spirits industry driving pioneering marketing, world-class operations, and innovative environmental programmes,” said Mahesh Madhavan, CEO of Bacardi.
“On behalf of Bacardi and our newest colleagues from Patrón, I thank Dave for his contributions to the industry and for supporting the union of two incredible organisations that are Bacardi and Patrón.”
Following Wilson’s retirement, Pete Carr, president of Bacardi North America, will lead both the Bacardi and Patrón organisations for North America.
Carr added: “Bringing the Patrón brand into the Bacardi portfolio brought the company to the number two spot in the United States by market share value and I am thrilled to lead the continued growth of the brand.”
As part of the new structure, Darren Doalson, senior vice president of US sales for Patrón Spirits, will now report to Carr.
David Rodriguez, director general of Patrón Sprits’ manufacturing operations in Mexico, will report to Jean-Marc Lambert, vice president of global operations for Bacardi.
Lee Applbaum will continue to manage US and global marketing for Patrón and Grey Goose vodka.
The announcement follows a number of departures from the Tequila maker in the last 12 months, including Patrón CEO Ed Brown, chief financial officer Dave Lawrence and executive vice president of North American sales Phil Gervasi.