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Pernod Ricard USA Announces Management Appointments
White Plains, NY, October 27, 2005 — The expansion of Pernod Ricard USA's business following the acquisition of Allied Domecq has led to two top-level appointments.
Alain Barbet, previously Chief Financial Officer of Pernod Ricard USA, has been named President and Chief Operating Officer, reporting to Michel Bord, who remains as Chief Executive Officer and also assumes the role of Chairman. "Alain's appointment will enable Pernod Ricard USA to capitalize on the opportunities created by the acquisition while enhancing our track record of successfully integrating great brands into the premium portfolio we offer our business partners," said Bord, who also serves as President and CEO of Pernod Ricard North America.
Peter Szemenyei, formerly Senior Director of Corporate Finance, Pernod Ricard USA, replaces Barbet as Chief Financial Officer.
Barbet joined Austin, Nichols & Company, the predecessor company to Pernod Ricard USA, as Chief Financial Officer in 1999. He previously held senior finance roles at DMC, Inc., a large international textile manufacturer; dairy powerhouse Fromageries Bel SA; and Allibert, Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Sommer-Allibert SA, a leading European plastics transformer. He began his career in France with the French unit of Andersen Consulting. Barbet holds an MBA from Essec, a leading French business school, and completed the Senior Executive Program at Columbia University's Business School in 1998.
Szemenyei joined Pernod Ricard USA in 2001 from the former Seagram Company, Ltd., which that year was acquired in part by Pernod Ricard. He had joined Seagram in 1983 and held a series of progressively responsible Finance roles at that company. Peter earned an MBA from McGill University in Montreal.
Pernod Ricard USA® is a leading producer and distributor of premium spirits and wine in the U.S. and a unit of Pernod Ricard, the world's second largest spirits company. Drawing on the heritage of its brands and a decentralized structure that allows close collaboration with customers, Pernod Ricard USA has built a comprehensive portfolio of prized brands in a variety of fast-growing categories, 10 of which are top 100 international premium spirits. The company, based in White Plains, NY, produces Wild Turkey® Bourbon and Seagram's Extra Dry Gin® and imports other premium brands, such as Chivas Regal® Scotch whisky, The Glenlivet® Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Jameson® Irish Whiskey, Martell™Cognac, Beefeater® Gin, Stolichnaya® Vodka, KahlÅ?a® Liqueur, and Malibu® Rum. The company's wine portfolio includes Jacob's Creek® and Wyndham Estate® wines and Mumm® and Perrier-Jouët® champagnes.