Chivas Brothers CEO Jean-Etienne Gourgues has been handed the role of executive vice president for global brands at Pernod Ricard, The Grocer has learned.
Gourgues, who has been Chivas Brothers’ CEO since 2021, will take up the new role on 1 August in addition to his existing responsibilities. He replaces incumbent Philippe Guettat, who is preparing to retire.
In addition to leading Pernod Ricard’s scotch whisky business, Gourges is also chairman of the Scotch Whisky Association. He has spent all but the first five years of his near-30 year career at Pernod Ricard.
Contacted for comment, Pernod Ricard confirmed the appointment but declined to provide further detail.
It comes with the future of Pernod Ricard’s Chivas Brothers unit unclear. Last month, the Paris-headquartered group announced an internal restructure after a leak revealed it was preparing to split its brands into two separate divisions – down from an existing eight brand companies, of which Chivas Brothers is one.
A ‘Gold’ division will house whiskey, cognac and champagne brands, while ‘Crystal’ will house rum, vodka and aperitifs, an internal presentation, seen by Reuters, revealed.
The restructure is expected to lead to widespread redundancies at the business.
In February, Pernod Ricard slashed its sales forecasts for the year in response to Chinese tariffs on brandy imports from the EU and uncertainty caused by US tariffs. It also announced a plan to cut €1bn in costs between 2026 and 2029 in response to a stalling top line.
In April, the group reported a bigger-than-expected fall in third-quarter sales of 4%, more than double the predicted decline, as it battled disruption in China and India.
Pernod Ricard also sold its international wine business in May to the owner of Accolade Wines for an undisclosed sum.
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