The SPI Group announced today the hiring of Hugues Pietrini as Global CEO of Stoli Group, its division responsible for the production, management and distribution of S.P.I. Group’s global spirits portfolio.
The organization named for vodka has expanded its range of products recently, having taken on the distribution and marketing for Achaval-Ferrer and Arinzano wines in 2015, Bayou Rum in 2016, and for KAH Tequila and Kentucky Owl Bourbon to kick off 2017.
Pietrini has a 20-year career in the food and beverage and spirits industries, most recently serving as executive VP of distribution at Moët Hennessy, the wines and spirits division of LVMH, where he was in charge of international distribution and led the Ruinart, Krug, Glenmorangie and Belvedere brand houses.
Previously, he spent nearly eight years at Orangina Schweppes, where he was promoted to President & CEO of France and Belgium from his marketing and research & development director post midway through his tenure.
His Stoli Group appointment will not be Pietrini’s introduction to the namesake brand. In the acquisition of Allied Domecq by Pernod Ricard, he was named VP of the Stolichnaya Brand Organisation, a role he held from 2005-2006.
“Over the last two years, the iconic Stoli brand has been in the midst of a rejuvenation among consumers and the trade,” says Pietrini in a press release. “When I looked at the position of our vodkas and the opportunity for growth with all of the premium and super-premium categories that the Group has recently entered, my decision was made without hesitation. I’m looking forward to building on the team’s recent successes in developing the Stoli and elit brands across the world, and to launching Bayou Rum and KAH Tequila next in key global markets.”
Pietrini starts with Stoli Group today and will be based in Luxembourg at the company’s global headquarters. He follows the departure of former CEO, Robert Cullins.
