Anora Group has settled on an internal candidate to become its next CEO with Kirsi Puntila preparing to move up.
Puntila (below), currently senior VP of the group’s spirits division, will assume the lead with immediate effect, the Finland-headquartered company confirmed this week. The news comes almost five months after Jacek Pastuszka stood down after less than a year at the helm.
Back in 2004, Puntila commenced her career in beverage alcohol, joining Pernod Ricard as a brand manager in her native Finland. The executive then spent the next ten years rising through the ranks, including a four-year stint in London with the Chivas Brothers scotch whisky division, finishing her decade with the group in Sweden as the global marketing manager for the Kahlua liqueur brand in its The Absolut Co unit.
A switch to Altia in Stockholm occurred in 2014, seven years before the company merged with Arcus to create Anora, which handles third-party distribution for a raft of international brands across the Nordic region and is a spirits brand owner in its own right.
“First, we would like to thank Jacek Pastuszka, who is retiring from the position of the CEO, for successfully leading Anora through a difficult time,” said group chair Michael Holm Johansen. “Kirsi Puntila is an experienced executive in the beverage industry and a well-respected leader at Anora.
“Having worked closely with Jacek over the past year, Kirsi will ensure continuity in our short-term priorities on improving profitability and the balance sheet.”
Puntila will retain her current oversight of Anora’s spirits businesses “until the nomination of her successor”.
