Emmanuel Dokhelar has been appointed by International Beverage to the position of MD for the brand. The news comes almost seven months after Finland’s Anora Group sold Larsen to the division for almost US$60m.
Dokhelar joins the Old Pulteney scotch and Caorunn gin brands owner after around 26 years in the beverage alcohol industry. Starting with Moët Hennessy’s namesake cognac in 1998, he spent time in Argentina and with the group’s Veuve Clicquot champagne before joining Pernod Ricard as global brand director for Mumm champagne in 2011. He then left the company in September, having spent four years in Thailand as the marketing director for the country.
Since then, he has been working in a consultancy capacity for Champagne Bollinger.
“His (Dokhelar’s) global expertise and skillset make him the ideal candidate to spearhead the plans that we are developing for Larsen Cognac and we are looking forward to working with him in the months ahead,” said International Beverage MD Malcolm Leask.
When contacted by Global Drinks Intel, a spokesperson for International Beverage said Dokhelar takes over from Jerome Philipon, who had been holding the MD reins on an interim basis.
According to Anora, at the time of the divestment, the cognac brand has annual sales of around EUR6m (then-US$6.4m).
Within weeks of buying Larsen, International Beverage added a distiller from New Zealand to its ranks, purchasing Cardrona Distillery, along with its namesake single malt and gin, liqueur and vodka brands, for an undisclosed sum.
