Beam Suntory has become the latest multinational beverage alcohol brand owner to confirm a change of leadership, with CEO Albert Baladi poised to make way for the group’s chief growth & brands officer, Greg Hughes.
In the same year as both Diageo and Stoli Group switched CEOs, Baladi, who moved up from chief operating officer in April 2019, has taken the “personal decision” to stand down after “careful consideration with my family”. Hughes will take on the role at the start of October.
Baladi, whose career includes a 13-year stint to 2007 with PepsiCo, joined Beam Suntory as regional president for Europe, the Middle East & Africa in 2011. Four years later, he was appointed president of ‘international’, just over 12 months after Suntory Holdings acquired the business for US$16bn. Late 2017 saw him move again, this time to COO & president of the Americas before transitioning to the COO role alone at the start of 2019.
“Some time ago and after careful consideration with my family, I shared with [Suntory Holdings CEO] Tak Niinami … my personal decision that now is the right time to transition the executive leadership of Beam Suntory,” Baladi said in a LinkedIn post.
“I’m particularly grateful for the opportunity to lead as Beam Suntory’s CEO … – a highly transformative phase for our company that has delivered very strong results, accelerated our premiumisation trajectory, step-changed our capabilities, strengthened the organisation and set the foundation for our 2030 ambitions.”
Hughes, meanwhile, left Kraft Foods in 2015 to join the company as GM for North America. Assuming the president role for the region at the end of 2018, he was promoted just seven months ago to his current position.
“I’d like to express deep appreciation to Albert for his tremendous leadership, exemplary contributions and impact during his 12-year tenure with Beam Suntory,” said Niinami. “Greg is ideally suited to succeed Albert as CEO and lead the company’s next era of growth, building on the strong track record under Albert’s leadership.”
Speaking to Global Drinks Intel in January, Baladi admitted that his greatest concern for 2023 was “the things we cannot control”.
“While we won’t be able to anticipate everything,” he said, “we’ve become very skilled at pivoting when required. This requires teamwork, creativity and great communication among our teams.”
How will 2023 treat Beam Suntory? – CEO Albert Baladi speaks exclusively to Global Drinks Intel
