Pernod Ricard reinforces its governance and evolves its organization

Pernod Ricard has announced organizational changes to further reinforce its consumer-centric strategy and support its next phase of growth and ongoing transformation, which commenced in 2015. With its unique portfolio of brands, the most comprehensive route-to-market, and a highly engaging culture, Pernod Ricard is better positioned than ever to capture future growth opportunities.

The new governance and organization will ensure even greater efficiency at all levels of the company and a closer proximity and reactivity to the dynamic global marketplace.
The key changes announced include:

1/ A reinforced corporate governance, to ensure more efficient engagement and faster decision making

• An Executive Committee is replacing the existing Executive Board. Composed of 9 positions, this committee is including EVP Global Brands, EVP Global Markets, North America CEO and Global Director of Operations. The Executive Committee is the permanent body responsible for directing the Group, in cooperation with the Chairman & CEO, whom it assists with his responsibilities.

• Philippe Guettat, currently Chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard Asia, is appointed Executive Vice President Global Brands. Gilles Bogaert, currently Chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard EMEA/LATAM, is appointed Executive Vice President Global Markets. These appointments have been made following the retirement of Christian Porta, Managing Director Global Business Development, after a long and fruitful career.

• The creation of a new “Executive Leadership Team” of 30 members, gathering key business leaders together with the Executive Committee members. The ELT ensures full alignment and effective deployment of the growth strategy and associated resources.

2/ A simplified organization, to align structures & accountabilities across all functions

• A delayered organization removing the regional entities covering EMEA / LATAM and Asia to ensure faster execution and decision making at every level of the organization.

• Regrouping all markets into 10 management entities, ensuring critical scale and fostering mutualisation.

Commenting on the changes, Alexandre Ricard, Chairman and CEO of Pernod Ricard, said:
“At Pernod Ricard, we have brought together and nurtured some of the most iconic global spirits and wines brands in the world, while remaining true to our entrepreneurship spirit. In an increasingly complex and volatile environment, I am confident our new organization will allow us to successfully move to a new stage of sustainable, stretched, and profitable growth, benefiting to all our stakeholders.
In welcoming Ann, Gilles, Philippe and Maria-Pia, I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to Christian Porta for his contribution to the Group after 35 years of unfailing commitment.”

Appendix:

Members of the new Executive Committee, reporting to Alexandre Ricard, Chairman and CEO

Gilles Bogaert, currently Chairman & CEO of Pernod Ricard EMEA & LATAM, is appointed EVP Global Markets. Over the past 28 years of his international career with Pernod Ricard, Gilles has held various General Management and senior Finance roles in Latin America and France at Group, Regional and Market Company levels. After being Managing Director, Finance & Operations for the Group from 2009 to 2018, in 2018 he became Chairman and CEO of EMEA & LATAM.

Hélène de Tissot, EVP Finance & IT. Hélène spent the first 8 years of her career as an international tax lawyer at Arthur Andersen. In her more than 20 years of international career with Pernod Ricard, she has held several senior leadership positions in Finance at both Group level and in the Region at Pernod Ricard Asia, before being appointed EVP, Finance, IT & Operations in 2018.

Maria Pia De Caro, EVP Operation. During her more than 25-year international career in Supply Chain and Operations, Maria Pia has led engineering, manufacturing, M&A and supply chain transformation teams for a number of international FMCG companies. Prior to joining Pernod Ricard Group in 2023, she held several Operations leadership roles at Procter & Gamble, Mondelez, Unilever and Nomad Foods in Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, China, and UK.

Philippe Guettat, currently Chairman & CEO of Pernod Ricard Asia, is appointed EVP Global Brands. Over his career, Philippe has held several leadership positions across Markets and Brand Companies, including Chairman and CEO of The Absolut Company, Martell Mumm Perrier Jouët, and since 2015 of Pernod Ricard Asia. He has 31 years of international experience with the Group in Marketing, Sales & General Management across France, Singapore, Hong Kong, China and Sweden.

Conor McQuaid, EVP Corporate Communication, S&R and Public Affairs. Over the past 25 years since joining the Group Conor brings a wealth of international experience in the industry and expertise in Marketing, Sales, Brand Development and General Management at Group, Market and Brand Company levels. Since 2022, he has been global EVP, Corporate Communication, S&R and Public Affairs.

Ann Mukherjee, Chief Executive Officer of Pernod Ricard North America. Ann has 31 years of extensive Marketing, Sales and General Management experience in FMCG companies including Kraft Foods Group, PepsiCo, and S. C. Johnson & Son. Prior to joining the Group as CEO of Pernod Ricard North America in 2019, she held global senior roles such as Global Chief Marketing Officer and Global Chief Commercial Officer at SC Johnson, and President, Global Snacks & Global Insights at PepsiCo.

Anne-Marie Poliquin, Group General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer. Anne-Marie has over 30 years of international experience within the legal departments of various large multinational groups, such as General Electric, Mars and JDE Peet’s. She has had global professional experiences in particular in Canada, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, and has held senior executive roles both at global and regional levels before joining Pernod Ricard in 2021.

Cédric Ramat, EVP Human Resources. Over the course of his 32-year international career, initially at Microsoft and for the past 30 years in Orangina and Pernod Ricard, Cedric has held several HR senior leadership roles in France and Americas in addition to experiences in Sales, IT and S&R. Since 2016, he has been the Global EVP, Human Resources for the Group.