Changes to the Pernod Ricard Executive Committee

Press Release 08/02/2018

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'Our organization is a living organism, constantly evolving as it adapts to our consumers and environment.'
Alexandre Ricard, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pernod Ricard

Pernod Ricard announces the following changes to its Executive Committee ('Comex'). These changes will be effective as of 1 July 2018, unless otherwise stated.

  • Christian Porta, currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pernod Ricard EMEA & LATAM is appointed to the newly created position of Managing Director, Global Business Development (GBD). A member of the Executive Board and the Comex, he will report to Alexandre Ricard.
    • In charge of all Brand Companies and the GBD team, Christian Porta will be responsible for:
      • Coordinating strategies and initiatives related to our brand portfolio, including innovation and digital
      • Adapting our ways of working and reinforcing the expertise of our sales and marketing teams to become a truly 'consumer-centric' organization.

All Brand Company CEOs, now reporting to Christian Porta, remain Comex members.

This organizational change will strengthen coordination across our company, improving transversal efficiency, resource allocation and speed of decision-making. 

  • Gilles Bogaert, currently Managing Director in charge of Finance, IT and Operations, becomes Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pernod Ricard EMEA & LATAM. A Comex member, he will report to Alexandre Ricard.
  • Hélène de Tissot, currently Group Strategy and M&A Director, becomes Group Finance, IT and Operations Director. A member of the Executive Board and Comex, she will report to Alexandre Ricard. Her replacement will be announced at a later date. 
  • Jean-Christophe Coutures, currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Irish Distillers, becomes Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Chivas Brothers. A Comex member, he will report to Christian Porta. He replaces Laurent Lacassagne who will leave Pernod Ricard. The Group wishes Laurent every success in his future projects and thanks him for his significant contribution to the development of the Group over the past thirty years.
  • Conor McQuaid, currently EVP Global Business Development, becomes Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Irish Distillers. A Comex member, he will report to Christian Porta.
  • Lastly, the Group announces the appointment of Philippe Coutin, currently Chief Executive Officer of Pernod Ricard Rouss and Pernod Ricard Eastern Europe, as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Ricard and Pernod Companies effective as of May 2019. A Comex member, he will report to Alexandre Ricard. He will replace Philippe Savinel, who will retire at this date. The replacement of Philippe Coutin will be announced at a later date.
     

 

Christian Porta, graduate of ESCP Europe (France), started his career as an auditor at Arthur Andersen in Paris in 1984 before joining Pernod Ricard in 1988 as an Internal Auditor. He was subsequently named Head of Financial Services at the Holding. In 1994, he was appointed CFO of Pernod SA, and in 1998 he became Managing Director of Campbell Distillers, the Group's Scotch whisky and distribution subsidiary in London. In 1999, he was named Chairman and CEO of the Orlando Wyndham Group, the Pernod Ricard wine business in Australia. He returned to Europe in 2004 to serve as Chairman and CEO of Chivas Brothers Ltd and held this post until 2013, when he became Chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard EMEA & LATAM.

 

Gilles Bogaert, graduate of ESCP Europe (France), began his career in 1991 as an auditor at Arthur Andersen in Paris, and joined Pernod Ricard in 1995 as Audit & Development Manager. He became CFO of Pernod Ricard Argentina in 1998, and in 2002 was named CFO of the Central & South Americas region, based in Brazil. On his return to France in 2003, he was appointed Director of Audit and Business Development, while in this role he was directly involved in the Group's two major acquisitions of Allied Domecq and Absolut. In 2008, he returned to Brazil to serve as Chairman and CEO of the local subsidiary before returning to France in 2009 as Group Managing Director in charge of Finance, IT and Operations.

 

 

Hélène de Tissot , graduate of ESSEC (France), holds a Master in Business Law from Université Panthéon-Assas Paris 2 (France) and the French Bar Exam. From 1994 to 2002, she worked as a tax lawyer at Arthur Andersen International before joining Pernod Ricard as Group Tax Director. In 2010, she was named CFO of the Asia region, based in Hong Kong, and she has held her current position as Group Strategy and M&A Director since 2016.

 

 

Jean-Christophe Coutures holds a Master's degree in Finance from Université Paris-Dauphine (France) and a Bachelor's degree from ESCP Europe (France). After four years as a senior consultant at Arthur Andersen Business Consulting, he joined Pernod Ricard in 1997 as Business Analyst at CSR Pampryl. In 2000, he became CFO of Pernod Ricard Asia before being named Chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard Korea in 2005. He was appointed Chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard Pacific (Australian and New Zealand wines) in 2008. Shortly thereafter, in 2010, he took up the role of Director of Pernod Ricard Winemakers, the Group's wine business. He has held his current position as Chairman and CEO of Irish Distillers Ltd since 2016.

 

 

Laurent Lacassagne, graduate of HEC (France), began his career as an auditor at Arthur Young, and joined Pernod Ricard in 1988 as an Internal Auditor before being appointed Finance and Administration Director of Besserat de Bellefon, Cusenier and then SEGM (former name of Pernod Ricard Europe). He then became Group CFO (1997-2003), and was subsequently named Chairman and CEO of the Orlando Wyndham Group in Australia. In 2006, he was appointed Chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard Pacific. After serving as Chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard Europe from 2008 to 2013, he became Chairman and CEO of Chivas Brothers Ltd, the Group's Scotch whisky and gin business, based in London.

 

 

Conor McQuaid holds a degree in International Marketing & Spanish from Dublin City University (Ireland) and Universidad de Sevilla in Spain. Having begun his career in Ireland with Golden Vale Group plc, Conor joined Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard in 1998 as Regional Manager for Southern Europe. He subsequently became Regional Director for Europe in 2000 before taking up the position of Global Brand Development Director of Irish Distillers in July 2005, joining the Irish Distillers Executive Committee. In July 2011, Conor became Managing Director of Pernod Ricard South Africa. Then in 2014, Conor was appointed EVP Global Business Development for the Pernod Ricard Group.

 

 

Philippe Savinel, graduate of ESSEC (France), began his career as a financial auditor at Arthur Andersen in Paris in 1981 before joining Pernod Ricard as an Internal Auditor in 1985. Head of the Group Planning and Budgeting Department from 1987 to 1989, he became CFO of Orangina, and subsequently Administrative and Financial Director of Ricard SA in 1993. He was named National Sales Director in 1997 and moved to Dublin to serve as Chairman and CEO of Irish Distillers in January of 2001, and at the same time became the Chairman of Pernod Ricard South Africa. He returned to France in 2005 when he was appointed Chairman and CEO of Ricard SA, and since 2015 he has served as Chairman and CEO of the two French distribution subsidiaries of the Group, Ricard and Pernod.

 

 

Philippe Coutin holds a degree in Agricultural Engineering from ENSA Montpellier (France). After having completed his French civil service in the Ivory Coast, he joined Pernod Ricard as an engineer at the Group Research Center in 1991. Then in 1995, he was appointed Managing Director of Pernod Ricard Trinidad, and later moved to Russia to serve as Managing Director of the local subsidiary in 1999. In 2004, he was named Managing Director of Havana Club International. From 2006 to 2013, he served as Managing Director of the Spanish subsidiary and the Group's 'Iberia' cluster. He returned to Russia in 2013 to serve as Managing Director of Pernod Ricard Rouss and the Eastern Europe Management Entity.

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