News

Beam Global Spirits & Wine Appoints U.S. Sales Leadership Team

DEERFIELD, Ill.-(Business Wire)-October 2, 2008 - Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc. [Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE:FO)], a global leader in premium spirits, today announced the appointments of its U.S. sales leadership executive team. Following this week’s announcement regarding the exit of Absolut Spirits from the Future Brands joint venture, Beam Global now goes to market with its own dedicated U.S. sales force. Beam Global is the No. 2 spirits supplier in the United States, and this dedicated sales force represents the entire Beam Global portfolio, including the recently acquired, fastest growing rum brand in the United States, Cruzan® Rum.

Effective today, the following executives are in place to lead newly formed Business Units, reporting directly to Bill Newlands, President of Beam Global’s U.S. business:

Matt Metz – vice president for the Central Business Unit.
Steve Bjeldanes – vice president for the Control States Business Unit.
Tony Truzzolino – vice president of the Eastern Business Unit.
Pryce Greenow – vice president of the Western Business Unit.
Tim Condron – group vice president of National Accounts and Sales Strategy.

“With these key vice president appointments in place, Beam Global will build the foundation to field a best-in-class sales organization in the United States,” stated Newlands. “As the leading American spirits company, we are retaining the best and brightest talent from Future Brands and will continue to elevate our sales teams’ commitment to excellence.”

Benefits of New Sales Structure

In a recent survey of on-premise chain retailers conducted by CM Profit Group, Future Brands was rated the top spirits supplier in the United States, Beam Global’s biggest market. Designed to deliver continued excellence to distributors and retail customers, Beam Global’s new Business Unit structure brings together its finance, marketing and sales teams into a cohesive unit to drive additional resources and decision-making capabilities closer to customers and consumers.

“Our dedicated sales force allows us to gain direct access to our customers and consumers, implement a focused sales strategy, simplify our route to market and more closely collaborate with marketing. Having this dedicated sales force for our portfolio of world-class brands including Jim Beam® Bourbon, Sauza® Tequila, Canadian Club® Whisky, Courvoisier® Cognac, Cruzan Rum, Maker's Mark® Bourbon, Laphroaig® Scotch Whisky, DeKuyper® Cordials and Liqueurs also allows us to focus on driving ‘talkability’ and achieving our vision of ‘Building Brands People Want to Talk About’,” continued Newlands. “We are pleased to have this high caliber team in place to lead Beam Global’s sales efforts in the United States.”

“We are a different company today than we were seven years ago when Future Brands was formed,” added Tom Flocco, president and CEO, Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc. “With the acquisition of some of the world’s leading brands in 2005 – and Cruzan just this week – we have leading positions across key premium categories and are in a stronger position given our broader premium portfolio, scale and, now, dedicated sales force. A fully integrated sales force focused solely on building the Beam Global portfolio is a win-win for Beam Global and our customers.”

About Beam Global Spirits & Wine:

Inspiring conversations around the world, Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc., is building brands people want to talk about. Consumers from all corners of the globe call for our brands, including Jim Beam® Bourbon, Sauza® Tequila, Canadian Club® Whisky, Courvoisier® Cognac, Maker's Mark® Bourbon, Cruzan® Rum, Laphroaig® Scotch Whisky, Larios® Gin, Whisky DYC®, Teacher's® Scotch Whisky, DeKuyper® Cordials and Liqueurs, Knob Creek® Bourbon and Starbucks™ Liqueurs. Beam Global Spirits & Wine is part of Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE:FO), a leading consumer brands company with annual sales exceeding $8 billion. For more information on Beam Global Spirits & Wine, its brands, and its commitment to social responsibility, please visit www.beamglobal.com and www.drinksmart.com.