Campari Group has appointed a former senior executive at Diageo as the next MD of its ‘House of Whiskey & Rum’ division.
Stephen White has started with the Aperol owner this week, having left rival Diageo in February. Based out of New York, White (below) will assume leadership across the Appleton Estate, Russell’s Reserve, Wild Turkey and Wray & Nephew brands.
His predecessor, Raul Gonzalez, stepped away from Campari Group in August, having joined from Edrington in September 2022 and assumed whiskey & rum responsibilities in late 2024. Details on where Gonzalez has moved to were not immediately available.
White spent just under 22 years with Diageo, joining the company in 2004 in the ‘European innovation’ team based in London. His career took in two years as the global marketing director for the group’s premium rums (2006-2008) and culminated in almost three years as senior VP for marketing & innovation covering North America. He left Diageo in February this year, founding a “consumer goods innovation engine” start-up, according to his LinkedIn profile.
“I am delighted to have joined Campari Group … with global responsibility for Wild Turkey, Russell’s Reserve, Appleton Estate and Wray & Nephew: four brands with extraordinary history, genuine craft and the kind of equity that takes generations to build,” he said today (6 November).
Campari Group operates as five category-defined divisions: As well as the ‘House of Whiskey & Rum’, the structure is dominated by the ‘House of Aperitifs’, followed by ‘Local Brands’. The ‘agave’ and ‘cognac & champagne’ divisions are both smaller than White’s unit, in sales terms.
In results from the first nine months to the end of September, announced last week, Campari Group posted a near-3% increase in year-on-year sales, although the whiskey & rum unit was down 10% following a 17.5% top-line tumble in Q3.
