Suntory Global Spirits has promoted internally to fill the recently-vacated role of international president and has expanded the responsibilities of its current North America president to include Latin America.
Carol Robert (below), who will be based in London, becomes the Jim Beam owner’s international lead, having previously been MD of its RTD operations in the US. She replaces Yuri Grebenkin, who left the group at the end of last year after ten years – including three as international president – to “pursue professional development opportunities”.
Prior to the RTD MD position in the US, Robert spent six years as COO for Great Britain & Ireland at the non-alcoholic food & beverages arm of parent Suntory Holdings. She joined Suntory Beverage & Food Europe in 2018 as a talent director, and was promoted to COO seven months later.
CEO Greg Hughes said: “Carol brings deep UK and European leadership experience … . She knows our international markets well and has proven she can simplify complexity, unlock growth and build cultures where teams move with speed and accountability.”
Meanwhile, SGS’s North America president, Carlo Coppola (below), has had his existing responsibilities extended to include Latin America and the Caribbean and gained the new title of president of the Americas.
In addition to the US and Canada, which he has been presiding over since 2024, Coppoloa’s remit now includes Brazil, Mexico and “distributor markets” in the region. His expanded scope “reflects the company’s ambition to create a more unified and strategically aligned Americas region”, the company added.
Hughes added: “Carlo has brought sharp commercial focus and strong, disciplined execution to our North America business, driving improved performance across the region. Expanding his remit to include Latin America and the Caribbean allows us to operate as one integrated region, with a unified strategy and streamlined decision making.”
As part of the changes announced today (18 February), the current MD for Mexico, Humberto Pérez, will also assume an expanded leadership role within the Americas as MD for Latin America, reporting in to Coppola and overseeing Brazil’s commercial organisation and the company’s distributor network in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In its full-year 2025 results, released last week, Suntory Holdings posted a 1.4% dip in sales from its combined alcohol operations, including SGS, to JPY1,040.8bn (US$6.8bn). The overall performance was hampered by what the company called “a challenging external environment”, specifying “economic uncertainty” in the US and Europe.
