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CommentsBacardi Limited has a 145-year history of excellence in liquor creation. Founded in 1862, Don Facundo Bacardi Masso made an investment that would eventually become one of the most profitable ventures in the industry. With the addition of the company insignia, which would be the most recognizable image immediately associated with premium rum, the logo earned the name el Ron del Murciélago, which translates to “the Rum of the Bat.”
From a single, tiny tin-roofed distillery in Santiago de Cuba, which was built with only 3,500 pesos, Bacardi has grown to become a name supported by over 6,000 committed employees in its 31 production centers across the continents. Originally based in the office it established in Hamilton, Bermuda in 1965, Bacardi is now headquartered in a historical building designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1972. Today, it is the largest privately held spirits company in the entire globe, with annual sales of 20 million cases from its Bacardi Rum line. The company itself is a concoction of over 200 labels and brands that compose its product portfolio.
Among its exotic offerings are world-leader Martini vermouth, super premium Grey Goose vodka, first-rate gin Bombay Sapphire, 42 Below vodka, blended Scotch whisky favorite Dewar’s Scotch whiskey and 100% blue agave Cazadores tequila. Its experimental nature is evident in its liquor range that showcases tequila, cognac, vodka and sparkling wine, offered in over 100 countries. Bacardi’s most well-known rums include Bacardi Superior and Bacardi 151.
Family businesses are generally difficult to transform into a company that is truly visionary and risk taking, given their very nature. This is all the more reason that Bacardi Limited is to be regarded as an exceptional model of executive leadership.
Facundo L. Bacardi rose to become the chairman of the board of Bacardi Limited in 2005, after three years as its deputy chairman. Prior to holding the topmost positions, he also held high profile positions as chairman of several committees and as a company director since 1993.
Bacardi Limited’s president and chief executive officer Seamus McBride recently assumed his role last September 1, 2008. What he brings to the table is extensive reputation built on more than 30 of consumer goods in global management. His sterling career encompasses 25 years with company giant Colgate-Palmolive, in which his duties involved the development of its international markets.
Ably assisting Seamus McBride in ensuring Bacardi’s success are the other members of the executive management team: President and CEO for Bacardi International Limited Michael Brennan, Global Chief Marketing Officer Stella J. David, and Global Chief Information Officer Jeri R. Dunn among others.
With management executives as experienced and invaluable as the ones leading Bacardi limited, it comes as no surprise that it has risen to become a global industry player. By their unswerving belief in Bacardi’s vision embodied through its tradition and people, it continues to define what liquor should be.
Additional information on Bacardi:
Casa Bacardi, a visitor center in Cantaño, Puerto Rico that tells the story of Bacardi.
Funding Universe has a profile of the Bacardi Family.
About.com article about the book Bacardi and the Long Fight For Cuba.
Post Author: guest