Simon Hunt, the former Chief Executive of William Grant & Sons has been selected as the nominee for Chief Executive Officer of Campari Group. He is expected to take over in January following the General Meeting and succeeds the ad interim co-CEOs Paolo Marchesini, Chief Financial and Operating Officer and Fabio Di Fede, Chief Legal and M&A Officer.
Simon Hunt began his career at Diageo, where he held various managerial positions in global and local marketing and sales, including Vice President of Smirnoff Global Marketing. He then joined Allied Domecq as Senior Vice President of Global Innovation and Executive Vice President of Marketing North America, before moving into Pernod Ricard as Chief Executive Officer&President of Malibu-Kahlua International.
Notably, he spent 14 years at William Grant & Sons, and across the years he took on increasing responsibilities, from President & Managing Director of North America to Chief Commercial Officer, and, finally, he served as Chief Executive Officer from 2016 to 2020.
In 2022, he was appointed as the CEO of global spirits incubator Catalyst Spirits in where he led the company’s strategic initiatives and innovation in ‘digitally native’ premium spirits brands. Catalyst Spirits is the operating company behind brands such as Howler Head, in which Campari Group acquired a minority stake and distribution rights in 2022. This is in the process of being unwound given the Campari Group focus behind the core priority brands.
Simon Hunt. Chief Executive Officer of Campari Group said, “During my more than three decades of experience within the spirits industry, I have always held Campari Group in the highest regard for its unique history, strong portfolio of iconic brands, company culture, and continuous outperformance and stellar growth story.”
Luca Garavoglia, Group Chairman, “We are delighted to welcome Simon as the new Chief Executive Officer of Campari Group. His proven and extensive industry experience and leadership in building and scaling premium and luxury brands on a global scale will be instrumental as he leads Campari Group through its next phase of growth.
“I am confident that Simon’s background, personality, energy, leadership and drive will take Campari Group to new heights as we continue to execute our growth strategy and evolve into our new Houses of Brands operating model.”
