Patrón executive will now head up global marketing for Grey Goose
Bacardi Limited announced that Lee Applbaum, Patrón Spirits chief marketing officer, has been tapped to also be the global head of Grey Goose vodka. With the added responsibilities, and as the chief architect of global marketing for Grey Goose, he will be adding brand equity, brand positioning, advertising, creative, brand communications, experiential, packaging and strategic direction of innovation and product creation to his oversight.
Applbaum, now CMO for both Patrón Spirits and the Grey Goose brand portfolio, will be based in Bermuda, contingent on immigration approvals, and continue to frequent the Bacardi Limited Dallas office, as well as offices in Coral Gables and London. He will continue to report to Bacardi Limited CEO Mahesh Madhavan. Applbaum has extensive experience in retail branding spanning over a decade. He has worked for Target in Australia and as EVP/CMO of Radio Shack, according to Linkedin.com.
As CMO of Patrón Spirits, Applbaum will continue to oversee integrated marketing efforts for its luxury brands, representing and innovating for the super-premium tequila brands in dozens of countries. “One of the greatest benefits of our recent acquisition of Patrón Spirits has been the merging and sharing of talent. It was always about more than just the liquid,” said Madhavan, in a company statement. “These were the types of synergies that we were looking for when we acquired Patrón Spirits earlier this year.”
Bacardi Limited completed its acquisition of Patrón Spirits for $5.1B in April. The Grey Goose portfolio includes Grey Goose Vodka, Grey Goose Interpreted by Ducasse, Grey Goose La Poire, Grey Goose L’Orange, and Grey Goose Le Citron Flavored Vodkas, as well as Grey Goose VX Spirit Drink.
Photo credit: Bacardi Limited