Proximo Spirits has recruited a former Bacardi and Heineken executive as the next MD for its Europe, Middle East & Asia Pacific region.
Shane Hoyne (below) will take on the position vacated by Gordon Dron, who is retiring this month. The switch, scheduled for 31 July, will see the pair work alongside each other “for an extended period to ensure a smooth leadership transition and maintain strong performance in the ‘rest of the world’ region”.
Hoyne started in the beverage alcohol industry in 1999 when he joined Heineken as a senior brand manager in Ireland. After 12 years with the brewer, he moved to Willian Grant & Sons to be a global brand director before starting in 2015 with Bacardi, where he was CMO for Europe for two years.
A two-year stint (2018-2020) with Quintessential Brands Group as group CMO preceded his current role as a director of Mijenta tequila owner Altos Planos Collective, who he left in May.
Proximo, which handles its parent company’s Jose Cuervo tequila portfolio, saw the Q1 sales from its ‘rest of the world’ reporting region slide by just over 10% in April. The brand owner will report its half-year results on 24 July.



