Beverage-alcohol industry veteran Rich Andrews has been appointed Canadian distribution president of Mark Anthony Wine & Spirits, a Toronto, Canada-based import and distribution arm of the Mark Anthony Group, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Andrews joined Mark Anthony from FIFCO USA, where he served as CEO of the U.S. operations of the Costa Rican food and beverage company, a role he began in January 2020. FIFCO USA chief marketing officer Piotr Jurjewicz supplanted Andrews as CEO.
“As Canada’s leading distributor, we continue to build excellence in our organization and market execution from coast to coast as the Canadian marketplace and consumers continue to evolve,” Mark Anthony said in an announcement of Andrews’ hire. “Rich has a wealth of industry knowledge, leadership expertise, expertise, and he is the right person to lead Mark Anthony into the next phase of our growth.”
The move to Mark Anthony’s Canadian wine, spirits and read-to-drink business marks a return to Andrews’ professional roots, as he spent more than 13 years at spirits giant Bacardi. There, his roles included chief commercial officer of the North America division, managing director for the United Kingdom and Ireland business for Bacardi Brown-Forman Brands, and president of the Latin America division, according to LinkedIn.
Producers in Mark Anthony Wine & Spirits’ imports portfolio include 19 Crimes Wine (Australia), Cenote Tequila (Mexico), Glendalough Distillery (Scotland) and Rodney Strong Wine (U.S.). Its Canadian brands include CedarCreek Estate Winery, CheckMate Artisanal Winery and Hidden Bench.
In the U.S., Mark Anthony Brands produces and sells White Claw, Mike’s Hard Lemonade and Cayman Jack flavored malt beverages.
Under Andrews’ leadership at FIFCO USA, “a new vision and strategy were created focused on fully leveraging FIFCO USA’s top brands in the portfolio, improving revenue management, creating a simplified and more effective organizational structure, and delivering a value-based approach that has resulted in consecutive years of record results,” Jurjewicz said.
FIFCO’s brands include LaBatt, Genesee, Genesee Specialty, Seagram’s Escapes, Magic Hat, Pyramid, and Imperial.
Courtney Simmons to Lead DEI Efforts for New Belgium and Bell’s
New Belgium Brewing and Bell’s Brewery have tapped Courtney Simmons as the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) director.
“DEI presents an enormous opportunity for the craft beer industry to evolve and expand in a positive direction, and New Belgium has made some important investments in this work. But it’s no secret that we, like so many breweries, have a long way to go,” New Belgium CEO Steve Fechheimer said in a press release. “As a central part of our human-powered business model, we will continue putting our coworker and community wellbeing at the center of everything we do to ensure our business reflects all people, cultures, and identities.”
Simmons joins the combined company from Herman Miller, a Zeeland, Michigan-based furniture design firm where she worked as DEI manager. In addition to Simmons’ professional DEI work, she also serves on the diversity and inclusion committee of a law firm in her community and chairs the Equality Michigan Action Network, which advocates for the rights of LGBTQ+ Michiganders.
“Courtney is a phenomenal leader and a much-needed truth-teller,” Bell’s EVP Carrie Yunker said in the release. “She’s really well positioned to help push us to address hard realities about where we are falling short in championing equity and building diversity as a company, within our industry, and beyond.”
In her new role, Simmons will “continue bringing underrepresented voices forward to influence leadership’s thinking and how decisions are made,” according to the release. She will continue to be based in Michigan and report to Katie Wallace, the company’s chief environmental social governance officer.
“At the end of the day, if we’re not engaging all our co-workers and ensuring that our workforce reflects all the people, cultures, and identities among potential customers in our global marketplace, well then, we’re not reaching all the people we can, selling all the beer we can, making all the profits we can, or having the greatest positive impact we can,” Simmons said.
The Bruery Adds Jordan Narducci as VP of Marketing and E-Commerce
Placentia, California-headquartered The Bruery hired CPG veteran Jordan Narducci as VP of marketing and e-commerce last month.
Narducci joined the company from Kellogg, where he spent nearly three years as director of global direct-to-consumer (DTC) e-commerce. Prior to Kellogg, he spent nearly three years as head of e-commerce and general manager of DTC operations for SnackNation, a DTC and B2B snack subscription company.
Craft breweries have become increasingly interested in the DTC channel as middle-tier consolidation often leaves smaller breweries with fewers paths to market. The Bruery and its sister brand Off-Shoot Beer Co. ship to consumers in California, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Vermont, and Washington, D.C., according to the company’s website.
Last year, the Bruery increased its volume by +27%, to 17,225 barrels, according to data from the Brewers Association (BA) published in the May/June issue of the New Brewer.