Concluding an 18 year-run with the company in which he helped revive the Aperol Spritz, Bob Kunze-Concewitz, CEO of Campari Group, announced on Tuesday he will be stepping down from the Italian spirits company in April 2024.
Matteo Fantacchiotti, who is currently managing director of the Asia Pacific region, will replace him and has been named deputy CEO immediately.
Kunze-Concewitz, who said he is stepping down to pursue his personal passions, has led the company for 16 years, and is credited with growing net sales and profitability 3x during his time at the helm. Since 2007, the CEO oversaw 27 acquisitions and developed the company’s core aperitifs brands such as Aperol, which increased net sales 12 times and became the group’s largest brand.
Under his leadership, the Campari brand was also relaunched, while Espolòn has become one of the fastest growing premium tequila brands in the U.S., the firm said. The group’s international footprint expanded from six to 25 in-market direct companies in the last 16 years, and from nine to 23 production facilities across the world.
“The very strong health of our brands and our robust organization now allow me to retire to pursue my personal passions and enjoy family life to the fullest,” said Kunze-Concewitz. “I am very happy to pass the baton to Matteo, a top manager whom I personally recruited and who already contributed significantly to Campari, thanks to his leadership capabilities and deep expertise of the spirits industry, particularly in the super premium end.”
Fantacchiotti has spent more than 20 years in the beverage industry including roles at Carlsberg, Nestlé Waters, and Diageo’s global luxury division. He joined Campari in 2020, helping to enhance the group’s route to market in Asia, establish a regional hub in Singapore, and deepen the focus on the high end premium and ultra-premium brand portfolio.
The company recently increased shareholders’ voting rights, a move which may carve a path toward making a big acquisition as the Italian spirits group seeks to compete against larger rivals like Pernod Ricard and Diageo.
Campari is not the only major spirits group to undergo leadership transitions this year: Beam Suntory’s Albert Baladi will step down as CEO in October and Debra Crew, Diageo’s chief operating officer, assumed the CEO role earlier than anticipated after Sir Ivan Menezes’ death in June.