Bulldog Gin creates Americas division

Industry veteran Chester Brandes to head new division

Bulldog Gin, New York, will form a new business unit responsible for the development and execution of the brand's commercial strategy in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Latin Americaand the Caribbean, with a particular focus on the on-premise, announced Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Bulldog Gin Anshuman Vohra.

Industry veteran Chester Brandes has been appointed managing director of the new division. Most recently, he served as chief executive officer of Imperial Brands Inc. (Groupe Belvedere) where he spearheaded the launch and successful development of Sobieski Vodka in the United States and Canada. Under Brandes' stewardship at Imperial Brands, Sobieski reached sales of 1 million cases faster than any other imported vodka brand in U.S. history, according to the company.

"With Bulldog growing at an impressive rate in North America, it's a game-changing time to bring on a seasoned veteran like Chester, who truly embodies the ‘Bulldog spirit’ of relentlessness, confidence, and passion,” Vohra said in a statement. “I am quite confident that he and our team will elevate and further amplify the brand in concert with our valued partners at Gruppo Campari, and I look forward to working closely with him in this endeavor.”

In addition to Bulldog’s existing U.S. team — led by Senior Brand Manager of North America Jaron Berkhemer — Christian Castren and Shayne Ackerl will assume the roles of commercial director of Latin America and Canada, respectively. All three will report to Brandes.

“Bulldog is on the precipice of really exploding in the North American market, following in the footsteps of its category-leading position in Spain,” Brandes said. “I am extremely excited about the opportunity to help develop this great brand in the region. Together with Gruppo Campari and our other distribution partners, I have no doubt that Bulldog’s growth will be greatly accelerated as a result of this initiative."

Ugo Fiorenzo, managing director of the U.S. for Gruppo Campari, added: "Bulldog is well positioned to take advantage of the rising interest in cocktail culture in this territory, shining as a key ingredient in popular drinks such as the Negroni. Chester's vast experience with distributors, along with the on-premise channel, makes him an ideal leader of this new division."

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