News Alert: Constellation Promotes Sam Glaetzer To President of Wine & Spirits Division
March 12, 2024Constellation Brands has appointed Sam Glaetzer as the company’s new Executive Vice President and President, Wine & Spirits Division, effective immediately. Glaetzer succeeds Robert Hanson, who previously held the role. Glaetzer will also serve as a member of Constellation’s executive management committee.
“Sam is a well-rounded senior leader with a wealth of experience in wine and spirits and a successful track record of driving commercial and operational efficiency and effectiveness,” said Bill Newlands, President and CEO at Constellation. “Now that our strategic wine and spirits brand portfolio transformation is largely complete, and as we turn our focus more squarely towards strong commercial and operational execution for this business, Sam is uniquely equipped to lead our Wine & Spirits division at this pivotal time as we look to deliver growth and improved profitability.”
Glaetzer has nearly three decades of wine and spirits industry experience. He joined Constellation Brands in 2014 as managing director of the company’s New Zealand and Australian operations, and over the past decade has served in a number of leadership roles across general management, international commercial sales, supply chain operations, product quality, new product development, acquisition integrations, and divestitures. Most recently, Glaetzer was Senior Vice President, Global Operations and International Sales at Constellation.
Glaetzer said the wine and spirits unit will “look to more fully capitalize on our portfolio transformation and accelerate the overall performance of this business going forward,” adding that it has “a solid strategy and foundation for growth in place.”
Constellation announced Hanson’s impending departure in early January, just ahead of issuing a downgrade in the full-year outlook for the wine and spirits business to down 7% to 9% in sales terms and 6% to 8% in operating income, as Newlands flagged “near-term headwinds in the wine market.”
Constellation said the downgrade in expectations was “primarily due to broader marketplace deceleration and U.S. wholesale underperformance.” It came as the company posted third quarter organic net sales for the wine and spirits unit down 7% to $502 million on a 10% shipment decline to 6.1 million 9-liter cases. Operating income for the division fell 5% to $128 million.
With new leadership in place, Constellation will look to boost momentum in the wine and spirits division looking ahead, leveraging a revamped portfolio geared to the premium end of the market.—Daniel Marsteller
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