Top 10 spirits industry CEO appointments of 2025
From game-changing leadership swap-outs to shocking and mysterious departures, this year has seen so many CEO changes at the world’s biggest spirits corporations that the revolving doors have almost come off their hinges.
It seems like a never-ending game of top job musical chairs has been played this year. In fact, we’ve reported on more than 25 leadership changes in 2025 alone, and the year isn’t over yet.
Everyone knows that a change of captain can drastically change the direction of your ship – usually for the better, but sometimes for the worse. We’ve taken a look back at the biggest, boldest and at times most shocking appointments and departures of the year.
Diageo
Debra Crew’s LinkedIn status dramatically changed to ‘looking for work’ in June, when her shock departure from the top job at Diageo (by mutual agreement) was announced. The company’s chief financial officer Nik Jhangiani stepped into the position on an interim basis.
Jhangiani held down the fort for a while, seeing the Johnnie Walker owner through its ‘unsatisfactory’ first-quarter sales report, before he was returned to his CFO position in place of Sir Dave Lewis, the former Tesco boss who has been given the moniker ‘drastic Dave’ on account of his dramatic leadership moves.
While Lewis is now taking home a big pay packet from the world’s leading spirits company, the role also comes with plenty of scrutiny. All eyes are on him to turn the firm’s poor stock market performance around in 2026.
William Grant & Sons
Many questions have been left unanswered since William Grant & Sons’ CEO Søren Hagh left the company less than two years after taking up the position.
Hagh’s departure from the company was confirmed via a Termination of Appointment notice filed on Companies House on Friday 31 October. But since then, the firm has remained tight-lipped on the matter, refusing to comment or provide an explanation for the senior leader’s departure. It has also not indicated who will helm the firm going forward – as it stands, the company is out at sea without a captain.
Stock Spirits
It’s been a big week for Steven Libermann, as on Monday (1 December), he took up the position of Stock Spirits’ new chief executive officer. He is taking over the role from Jean-Christophe Coutures, who stepped down on 30 November for family reasons.
When his appointment was announced in October, Libermann said: “It is a privilege to join a business with deep local roots and real European reach. Stock Spirits has the right brands and markets, underpinned by a robust financial platform.
“My immediate focus will be meeting our teams, listening to our customers and partners, and aligning on the actions that will deliver our shared vision of Stock Spirits as a European leader in spirits. Joining a 140-year-old company is a genuine honour, and I look forward to guiding it into the next chapter.”
House of Tequila
While not a CEO appointment, Tim Croizat became managing director of Pernod Ricard’s House of Tequila portfolio in Mexico in September, after Michael Merolli stepped down from the yet-to-be-filled CEO position.
Croizat now oversees brands such as Altos, Avion and Olmeca on the Tequila side, as well as Del Maguey and Ojo De Tigre for mezcal. He is responsible for overseeing strategic brand development and long-term growth for the House of Tequila across major markets, which are listed as the US, UK, Australia, Western Europe, China, and Turkey.
Pernod Ricard has drawn from plenty of in-house experience with Croizat, who has been developing brands for the French firm since joining the company in 2003.
Havana Club
In August, Christian Barré stepped down from his role as chief executive officer of Havana Club to begin his retirement, and Michael Merolli, former CEO of House of Tequila, took his place.
Barré had spent nearly eight years at the helm of the Cuban rum brand. A statement released on his departure from Havana Club said: “After 38 years of dedicated service at Pernod Ricard, Christian Barré retires from his role as CEO of Havana Club International – marking the end of an exceptional career, including nearly eight years at the helm of Havana Club.”
Merolli stepped up in his place, making the switch from Tequila to rum. The company said he brings “a proven track record in global brand-building and a clear ambition to lead Havana Club into its next chapter.”
MGP Ingredients
In July, former Constellation Brands executive Julie Francis joined MGP Ingredients as CEO and president to drive the group’s branded spirits strategy, taking over the role from interim CEO Brandon Gall.
Martin Roper, chairman of the MGP board, described Francis as “a proven leader with decades of experience driving growth and value creation across the food and beverage space, making her the ideal candidate to lead MGP forward.”
The Kansas-based firm said it was hopeful that Francis would be able to help the company advance its goal of becoming a branded spirits business.
Amber Beverage Group
Spirits brand owner Amber Beverage Group took a leap with Latvian-based Normunds Stanevics in July, appointing the drinks industry newcomer as its CEO following the departure of Jekaterina Stuģe in January last year.
The company, which is majority-owned by Stoli Group and headquartered in Latvia, had previously appointed the role on an interim basis to chief legal officer Arturs Evarts. However, Stanevics’ more than two decades of senior international leadership experience from across multiple industries was enough to clinch him the job.
According to ABG, Stanevics’ extensive M&A experience encompasses orchestrating ‘complex’ international deals, and his leadership approach emphasises collaborative decision-making, data-driven strategies, transparent communication, and building high-performance teams.
Rémy Cointreau
In April, Eric Vallat, CEO of Rémy Cointreau, announced he would be stepping down from the top role over the summer after more than five years at the helm of the French firm to ‘dedicate himself to a new professional project’.
His replacement was Franck Marilly, whose career spans more than 30 years with luxury and cosmetics groups such as Chanel and Unilever.
He took up his duties in June. In a recent statement following the announcement of the group’s financial performance for the first six months of the year, he said he believed the French group had “turned a corner”.
“The first half of the year was challenging, but it marks the start of a new era for Rémy Cointreau. Despite a persistently tough environment, we remain confident in our ability to return to growth in the second half.”
Lucas Bols
Lucas Bols’ former chief financial officer Frank Cocx was promoted to CEO when Huub Van Doorne departed the post at the end of September.
Van Doorne said it had been a privilege to lead the company for the past 20 years. “On this memorable 450th anniversary of The Lucas Bols Company – a milestone achieved by very few companies only – I believe the time is right for me to step down and pass the baton to the next generation.”
Cocx said he was “truly honoured to take on the role of CEO at this unique moment in the company’s unparalleled history. Working with the supervisory board and alongside Huub has provided excellent and enjoyable learning opportunities.
“Together with our entire global team and valuable partners, I look forward to pursuing the future growth and development of the global cocktail markets and our iconic cocktail brands while continuing our rich tradition of innovation.
As Van Doorne readied to call time on his 20-year tenure as Lucas Bols CEO, he chatted to The Spirits Business about the highlights of the past two decades.
Anora
March saw the immediate appointment of Kirsi Puntila as the new CEO of Helsinki-based spirits company Anora Group.
Puntila, who has worked with Anora and its predecessor since 2014, held the position of senior vice president of spirits prior to the promotion. “Her extensive knowledge of Anora’s business” was described as “a clear asset” for the company, according to Michael Holm Johansen, chairperson of Anora’s board of directors.
Puntila was the focus of our big interview in the June issue of The Spirits Business magazine, in which she said she was confident she could drive the company towards its ambitious goals with its strong Nordic brands.
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