A key c-suite executive is departing Molson Coors as new president and CEO Rahul Goyal realigns the company’s leadership team and organizational structure, unwinding its Americas Commercial Organization.
Chief commercial officer Michelle St. Jacques will depart Molson Coors on November 14, the company announced today in an 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
St. Jacques’ exit ends a rise within Molson Coors that started in 2019 when she became chief marketing officer, leading to a 2023 promotion as chief commercial officer and the creation of a new commercial division for the U.S. and Canada. She was also among the company’s most forward-facing executives alongside then-CEO Gavin Hattersley, who is retiring at the end of the year.
In a company memo today, president and CEO Rahul Goyal – who took over the role October 1 – announced additions to Molson Coors’ leadership team, the reorganized structure and the end to the Americas Commercial Organization overseen by St. Jacques.
Goyal wrote that he and St. Jacques “mutually agreed there wasn’t the right role for her given her experience and skills” when he shared plans for the new organizational model.
As such, Goyal announced several additions to Molson Coors’ leadership team and expanded roles, with a goal “to better focus P&L accountability and strategic alignment in a manner that will enable us to deliver more value for our customers and win more occasions with many more consumers.”
“Successfully driving our key priorities and enabling bolder, faster decision making starts with accountability and ownership at the leadership level,” Goyal wrote.
Molson Coors’ expanded leadership team will now include:
- Chantalle Butler, president – Canada sales;
- Sofia Colucci, CMO;
- Brian Feiro, president of U.S. sales;
- Jeff Long, chief strategy and capabilities officer;
- And Darrin Vohs, chief information officer.
They join existing leadership team members:
- Brian Erhardt, chief supply chain officer;
- Tracey Joubert, CFO;
- Natalie Maciolek, chief legal, communications and government affairs officer;
- Dave Osswald, chief people and culture officer;
- Phil Whitehead, president and CEO of EMEA APAC.
Goyal noted expanded oversight roles for:
- Colucci – innovation, field marketing and media teams;
- Feiro– non-alc and spirits sales teams;
- Long – strategy, analytics, shopper and customer marketing teams;
- Erhardt – the Yuengling joint venture;
- Joubert – M&A team;
- Maciolek – communications and corporate affairs teams;
- And Osswald – Coors Distributing Co.
“As a leadership team, we believe this new structure will help drive the focus and accountability to position us to return to growth,” Goyal wrote.
Goyal thanked St. Jacques for her work at Molson Coors.
“Throughout her nearly seven years with the business, MSJ has brought passion and bold thinking in pursuit of strengthening our brands and transforming Molson Coors into a total beverage company,” he wrote. “MSJ’s contributions have helped prepare our brands across the Americas to pursue the next phase of growth from a stronger place than when she joined the business.
“She has been a leader and a friend to many, and we wish her the absolute best in her next chapter.”
St. Jacques’ announced departure comes nearly two weeks after Goyal’s promotion from chief strategy officer to president and CEO, ending a five-month search that included internal and external candidates.
After Hattersley’s April retirement announcement, St. Jacques was among the top executives to receive “time-based restricted stock units” as retention bonuses. Her $750,282 award was the second-highest award given.
St. Jacques’ resume prior to Molson Coors included nearly five years at Kraft Heinz, where she was global head of brands and capabilities, and more than seven years at Unilever as a senior brand building director for Dove, Vaseline, Axe, St. Ives, Lever 2000 and Q-Tips.
Year-to-date through September 7, Molson Coors’ dollar sales (-5.6%) and volume (-6.9%) are in the red in Circana-tracked off-premise retailers. The company has posted $5.45 billion in sales through early September, a year-over-year loss of more than $321 million in sales. Volume has declined more than 16 million case equivalents.
Molson Coors holds a 17.57% share of beer category dollars, a decline of 0.51 share points compared to a year ago.