By Andy Young
Asahi Premium Brands has extended its leadership team as it looks to make the most of "exciting new opportunities to expand outside of Australia".
Asahi's Michael Ritoli and Andrew Amarant
The changes see the creation of a General Manager – International position, to which the company has appointed Andrew Amarant. Amarant moves from his role as General Manager – National Accounts to take on the international job.
Scott Hadley, APB's Chief Commercial Officer – Alcohol ANZ, said: "Andrew brings a wealth of experience and knowledge having a background in many markets outside of Australia and he will continue to report to me in this role."
As a result of Amarant's appointment APB has merged his previous job with the General Manager – Sales Independents, to create another new position, which is General Manager – National Sales. The company has announced that the current Sales Independents GM, Michael Ritoli, will be appointed into this role.
Hadley said that he was "pleased" to announce Ritoli's appointment as he has "over 20 years’ experience in the industry having held a number of senior leadership roles across different organisations."
Speaking about the changes and his new role, Ritoli told TheShout: "We're strengthening our leadership team and this is an exciting time for Asahi Premium Beverages.
"We're moving the entire sales function under one structure, to further optimise our strong sales performance across Australia.
"In the GM – International position, we've also created a role that is designed for expansion and it will help bring better focus and direction into the business. We're evolving as a business and this is the next step in our evolution."
Hadley added: "The Asahi Beverages Alcohol division is performing very strongly in both Australia and New Zealand. The changes provide us with a platform to continue this growth path whilst accelerating our international expansion as we continue to provide outstanding service to our customers with our market leading brands."