Bacardi announces its next CEO, other succession moves
Bacardi Limited announced its next CEO and other succession plans.
The world’s largest privately held spirits company, based in Bermuda with U.S. headquarters in Miami, said Mahesh Madhavan, a 20-year Bacardi veteran of Bacardi’s global leadership team, will succeed Michael J. Dolan April 1, 2018.
Dolan will continue as CEO in the interim, while Madhavan, who is now Bacardi’s regional president of Asia, Middle East and Africa, will become regional president of Europe, based in Geneva, for much of 2017. Dolan will continue to serve on the board until the 2019 annual meeting, when he will retire from the company.
“As a long-time Bacardi executive, Mahesh has the ideal mix of leadership skills, commercial, operational and financial expertise, and global brands experience. Importantly, he fully embraces our culture, history, and values, and he is an exemplary leader of people,” said Chairman Facundo L. Bacardi, in a statement.
Dolan joined the Bacardi board in 2009 and has been CEO since 2014. Madhavan has held multiple leadership roles, including as managing director positions for India, Thailand and the Philippines and managing director of South Asia and Southeast Asia.
“We have many exciting opportunities ahead of us, and we are in the ideal position to capitalize on global spirits trends with iconic brands in the premium and ultra-premium segments,” said Madhavan.
Bacardi Limited also announced that Paolo Perego, currently regional president of Europe, is leaving the company, and Alex Ouziel, currently VP and managing director of Eastern Europe, has been promoted to regional president of Asia, Middle East and Africa, based in Dubai, succeeding Madhavan, and will join the Global Leadership Team. Oksana Pevtsova has been promoted to VP and managing director of Eastern Europe, based in Moscow, replacing Ouziel.
The family-owned Bacardi was founded in 1862 in Santiago de Cuba. It manufactures 200 brands and sells them in more than 160 countries.
This story was originally published March 6, 2017 at 4:04 PM with the headline "Bacardi announces its next CEO, other succession moves."