New ceo of roust Russia
Roust Corporation, the largest integrated spirits producer and distributor in Central and Eastern Europe and the second-largest vodka producer in the world, announces today the appointment of Alexey Gulevich as CEO of Roust Russia.
Alexey has more than 20 years of experience in sales and marketing in FMCG industry. From 1999 to 2017, he successfully worked his way up from Sales Manager and Country Marketing Manager to Commercial Director at Coca-Cola HBC. In 2017, Alexey moved from the position of Sales Director at Heineken Belarus to Vice President of Sales at Roust Russia.
In his new position, Alexey will report directly to Pavel Merkul, CEO of Roust Corporation, and be responsible for all aspects of the company’s consolidated business in Russia, which is a priority for the Group. Alexey will carry out strategic planning and operational management of the company, including sales, marketing, finance, HR, production, supply and legal support of the business.
Vassilen Tzanov, who previously held the position of Roust Russia CEO, will focus on further development of the Group’s Polish business.
Pavel Merkul, CEO of Roust Corporation, comments: “The appointment of Alexey is a continuation of our policy to develop successful managers within the company. Alexey not only has a deep knowledge of our business, but has also shown outstanding results since his arrival at the company. I am sure that Alexey will be able to make a significant contribution to further accelerated growth in sales volumes and revenue in our key market in Russia.”
Roust continues to strengthen its position as the number one vodka producer in Russia, demonstrating a 32% increase in production in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the same period last year. The company's sales increased in Q1 by 12.8% and reached 1.83 million 9-liter cases. The key mainstream vodka brands showed double-digit growth: Talka (+24%) and Green Mark (+12%), while the economy segment continued its steady growth in Q1 by 37%. Agency brands are also showing significant growth, led by world’s #1 ice shot Jägermeister: the brand has grown by 13% compared to the first quarter of 2018.
As of 2018, Roust’s sales in Russia grew by a noticeable 32%. Since November 2018, Roust is the number 1 player in the vodka market, and in December 2018, the company strengthened its position to a 12.3-percent market share (+2.3% compared to the previous year).