Molson Coors Beverage Company has announced the retirement of Simon Cox, president and CEO of Molson Coors European business unit.
Sergey Yeskov, the company’s current managing director of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), will transition into Cox’s role on 1 January 2022.
Simon Cox
Cox retires after more than three decades in the beer industry.
A master brewer by training, he worked for Molson Coors for 16 years where he led both supply chain and on trade sales teams, as well as the strategy function in the UK before going on to successfully run the UK business.
He was subsequently selected to run Molson Coors Europe.
During that time, he built an impressive record, including the acquisitions of Cobra, Sharp’s Brewery, and Aspall Cyder.
“Simon [Cox] has brought our European business to where it is today, and all of us owe him a debt of gratitude for what he has helped us deliver and who he has helped us become,” said Molson Coors president and CEO, Gavin Hattersley.
“We will miss his conviction in our values and his unwavering commitment to prioritising our people, but I couldn’t be happier that he will be able to relax, unwind and travel with his wife and kids.”
Sergey Yeskov
A native of Ukraine, Yeskov has held senior leadership positions for the drinks group throughout the world, delivering impressive business results and building a strong reputation for his people-first approach.
Prior to serving as managing director of CEE, he served as the president and CEO of Molson Coors International in the United States and oversaw operations in India, Africa, Latin America, Japan, and many more markets throughout the world.
He also served as chief sales and commercial officer in Molson Coors Canada. Prior to that, he led the group’s businesses in Croatia and Bosnia.
“Sergey’s well-rounded experience across geographies and business functions, along with his people-first approach, will be an asset to our Europe team and for our entire global business,” said Hattersley.
“Under Sergey’s leadership, Molson Coors will continue to build strength for our people and for our business throughout the Europe business unit.”
Molson Coors’ Europe business has performed strongly through 30 September 2021, essentially reaching 2019 revenue levels in the third quarter.
The business plans to keep this momentum up by stepping up its European marketing investments.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Conor Farrelly. For more Drinks news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
