LOUISVILLE, KYÂ â BrownâForman Corporation (NYSE:BFA,BFB) announced today a series of strategic initiatives to position the company for continued growth in the dynamic global spirits market. These initiatives include restructuring the executive leadership team, implementing a workforce reduction affecting approximately 12% of the companyâs global workforce, and closing the Louisville-based BrownâForman Cooperage.
âIn 2025, BrownâForman celebrates 155 years of delivering Nothing Better in the Market. We have achieved this impressive milestone in part because of our relentless focus on evolving our strategy, our portfolio, and our organization to grow and thrive,â said Lawson Whiting, President & Chief Executive Officer. âTodayâs announcement will ensure we have the structure and teams in place to continue on this path, while also making investments that we believe will facilitate growth for generations to come.â
New Executive Leadership Team Appointments
BrownâForman has restructured its executive leadership team to accelerate growth across its brands, business, and workforce. This includes consolidating and streamlining its commercial structure to leverage greater synergies and effectiveness in its markets.
Among the new appointments, effective as of today:
- Jeremy Shepherd has been named Chief Marketing Officer. Shepherd previously led the companyâs USA & Canada commercial division.
- Michael Masick has been named President, Americas. Masick will continue commercial leadership for Mexico, South and Central America, and the Caribbean. In his expanded role, he will add USA & Canada to his remit.
- Yiannis Pafilis has been named President, Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific. Pafilis currently leads teams across Europe. In this expanded role, he will add Africa, the Asia Pacific region, and global travel retail.
- Chris Graven has joined the executive leadership team as Chief Strategy Officer. Graven has held roles in BrownâFormanâs HR, finance, marketing, and commercial organizations in her 20 years with the company.
Workforce Reduction
To enhance operational efficiency and agility, BrownâForman has made the difficult decision to reduce its global workforce by approximately 12% of its 5,400 employees worldwide. BrownâForman is deeply committed to supporting departing employees with comprehensive transition agreements that include severance, outplacement services, and other benefits to help them through this career change.
This organizational evolution will simplify and streamline BrownâFormanâs structure, allowing it to become a more agile and efficient organization and reinvest in the capabilities, technologies, brands, and people that will drive future growth.
BrownâForman Cooperage Closure
BrownâForman will close its Louisville-based barrel-making operation, BrownâForman Cooperage, by April 25, 2025. This closure, which will impact approximately 210 hourly and salaried employees, is part of the overall 12% workforce reduction. BrownâForman will offer severance, outplacement services, and benefits consistent with their terms of employment.
Moving forward, BrownâForman will source barrels from an external supplier to ensure a steady supply of the same high-quality barrels at a competitive price.
Collectively, these actions are projected to deliver approximately $70 to $80 million in annualized cost savings, a portion of which is expected to be reinvested to accelerate growth. In addition, the company will receive more than $30 million in proceeds in connection with the sale of the cooperage assets. The company expects to incur approximately $60 to $70 million in aggregate charges for severance and related costs associated with the workforce reduction and cooperage closing.
“I want to express my sincere gratitude to our employees, particularly those impacted by these changes, for their dedication and contributions to BrownâForman,” said Whiting. “We are committed to supporting them through this transition and are confident that these strategic initiatives will ensure the company endures for generations to come.”
Bios and photos for executive leadership team members are available on BrownâForman.com.
About BrownâForman:
BrownâForman Corporation has been building exceptional spirits brands for more than 150 years, responsibly upholding our founding promise of âNothing Better in the Market.â Our portfolio of premium brands includes the Jack Danielâs Family of Brands, Woodford Reserve, Herradura, el Jimador, Korbel, New Mix, Old Forester, The Glendronach, Glenglassaugh, Benriach, DiplomĂĄtico Rum, Chambord, Gin Mare, Fords Gin, Slane, and Coopersâ Craft. With a team of approximately 5,400 employees worldwide, we proudly share our passion for premium beverages in more than 170 countries. Discover more about us at brown-forman.com and stay connected through LinkedIn, Instagram, and X.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements that are âforward-looking statementsâ as defined under U.S. federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements reflect managementâs expectations or projections regarding future events and speak only as of the date we make them. Except as required by law, we do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors (many beyond our control) that could cause our actual results to differ materially from our historical experience or from our current expectations or projections.
For further information on factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from our historical experience or from our current expectations or projections, please refer to our public filings, including the âRisk Factorsâ section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
