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Brown-Forman appoints GTR commercial director
Anton Skobelev became commercial director of global travel retail (GTR) at Brown-Forman on 1 February.
In this new role, Skobelev leads the Brown-Forman GTR commercial business, reporting directly to Matthew Hodges, vice-president and managing director of EurAsia, India, Middle East and GTR.
Hodges said: “We are delighted to welcome Anton to our GTR business and team. He brings a powerful combination of sharp business acumen and people-focused leadership to this role.
“His in-depth commercial experience and knowledge will position him well to further our GTR growth.”
Skobelev joined Brown-Forman in 2021 as sales director for Russia. He became general manager of ready-to-drink for the US and Canada in 2022, when he was based in Louisville, Kentucky.
He has more than 20 years of sales and commercial experience from the beer and consumer packaged goods industry, having worked at Grolsch, SABMiller, ABInbev Efes, and Mondelez before joining Brown-Forman.
In his new role, Skobelev will move to Amsterdam, where the company’s regional headquarters for Europe, Africa, and Asia Pacific is located.
In its most recent results, the firm saw organic sales for the nine months to 31 January 2025 rise by 2%, but its Tequila portfolio plunged by double digits.
Its CEO, Lawson Whiting, attributed the current decline in spirits to “cyclical inflation” rather than structural changes.
Earlier this year, Brown-Forman reduced its 5,400-strong global workforce by approximately 12% and announced the closure of its Louisville-based barrel-making operation.
The Brown-Forman Cooperage, which will close by 25 April, employs around 210 hourly and salaried employees, who will form part of the overall 12% reduction.
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