Exclusive: Beam Suntory Appoints Carlo Coppola President Of North America Business
April 12, 2024Beam Suntory has named company veteran Carlo Coppola as president of its North America unit, effective April 29. Coppola succeeds Jessica Spence, who is leaving the company. He’ll report to Beam Suntory CEO Greg Hughes and serve on the company’s executive leadership team.
Coppola was most recently president of American whiskey and Tequila, overseeing P&L for Beam Suntory’s priority Bourbon brands Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark, as well as its Tequila portfolio, which includes El Tesoro, Tres Generaciones, and Hornitos. Before that, he was managing director of the James B. Beam Distilling Company brand house and also previously served as chief commercial officer for the U.S. business. Coppola has been with Beam Suntory for 16 years, prior to which he spent time with Allied Domecq and Pernod Ricard.
“With a career spanning across U.S. commercial, finance, and global brands over the past 20-plus years, Carlo brings strong commercial acumen, in-depth customer and consumer knowledge, and deep understanding and passion for our brands and people to our largest market,” said Hughes. “We are grateful to Jessica for all she has done to help transform and build Beam Suntory during this critical period of growth and wish her well in her next endeavor.”
“We have a strong foundation in place, and we are only just getting started on realizing the full potential of our portfolio in this region,” said Coppola.
In recent weeks, Beam Suntory also appointed Constellation veteran John Alvarado as U.S. chief brands officer, leading marketing for the portfolio. The company posted global sales up 7% to $5.6 billion for 2023, with operating income up 13%, fueled by growth across its core portfolio of American and Japanese whiskies, Tequilas, and RTDs.—Daniel Marsteller
| Beam Suntory―Key Brands in the U.S. (thousands of 9-liter case depletions) |
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| Brand | Type | 2022 | 2023 | Percent Change1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Beam2 | Bourbon | 6,070 | 5,950 | -2.0% |
| Maker’s Mark | Bourbon | 2,375 | 2,350 | -1.0% |
| DeKuyper | Liqueur | 1,965 | 1,995 | 1.6% |
| Hornitos | Tequila | 1,675 | 1,725 | 3.0% |
| On the Rocks | RTD | 668 | 738 | 10.5% |
| Knob Creek | Bourbon | 531 | 531 | 0.0% |
| Basil Hayden | Bourbon | 523 | 502 | -4.0% |
| Total Key Brands | 13,805 | 13,790 | -0.1% | |
| 1 Based on unrounded data. 2 Includes flavors, excludes Eight Star and RTDs. Source: IMPACT DATABANK © 2024 |
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