William Grant & Sons Appoints James Casey As U.S. President
William Grant & Sons has announced two key leadership changes for the U.S., naming James Casey as the company’s new U.S. president and managing director, and Vérane de Marffy as CMO for the U.S. Casey’s new post is effective March 31 and Marffy’s takes effect April 1. Both appointments were made by William Grant & Sons global CEO Søren Hagh. William Grant had total U.S. volume of 3.3 million cases last year, according to Impact Databank, on a 2% increase.
Casey joins William Grant from Constellation, where he served as senior vice president and chief sales officer of the wine and spirits division. Prior to joining Constellation in 2018, Casey held key roles at Diageo, Gallo, and Treasury Wine Estates. Marffy, a veteran of L’Oreal, was most recently global deputy general manager at Ralph Lauren Fragrances.
Casey’s appointment follows the November 2024 departure of Paul Basford from William Grant’s U.S. team. Basford served as the company’s U.S. president for nearly four years before accepting a role as chief commercial officer at Pernod Ricard USA last fall.
Grant USA’s new leaders are tasked with accelerating growth for the company amid a tough operating environment. The U.S. portfolio fared well last year under the circumstances, led by 800,000-case Tequila Milagro and super-premium gin Hendrick’s at more than 600,000 cases, both of which were up 4%.
The portfolio’s growth last year cut across categories, price points, and brand size, with eight of its leading 13 brands seeing gains in 2024, including double-digit advances for Reyka vodka and Glenfiddich and The Balvenie single malt Scotch whiskies. “I look forward to leveraging my experience to help drive the U.S. business forward and support its next phase of growth,” said Casey.
“It’s with great enthusiasm that we welcome Jim and Vérane to our U.S. team, a key market for our global William Grant & Sons business,” said Hagh. “Both bring exceptional experience in driving growth and success across the luxury, lifestyle and spirits sectors. We’re confident that their leadership will be instrumental in guiding our U.S. team and propelling our global business toward even greater success and growth in the years ahead.”—Shane English
| William Grant’s Leading Brands In The U.S. (Thousands of 9-liter case depletions) |
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| Brand | Type | 2023 | 2024 | Percent Change1 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milagro | Tequila | 778 | 811 | 4.1% | ||
| Hendrick’s | Imported Gin | 590 | 615 | 4.1% | ||
| Sailor Jerry | Rum | 537 | 501 | -6.6% | ||
| Tullamore Dew | Irish Whiskey | 316 | 326 | 3.1% | ||
| Clan MacGregor | Blended Scotch | 264 | 256 | -3.1% | ||
| Reyka | Imported Vodka | 196 | 231 | 18.0% | ||
| Glenfiddich | Single Malt Scotch | 172 | 191 | 10.5% | ||
| Monkey Shoulder | Blended Malt Scotch | 107 | 101 | -5.9% | ||
| Balvenie | Single Malt Scotch | 88 | 100 | 14.3% | ||
| Grant’s | Blended Scotch | 82 | 84 | 3.0% | ||
| Drambuie | Imported Liqueur | 43 | 43 | -1.2% | ||
| Raynal | Imported Brandy | 24 | 23 | -6.0% | ||
| Solerno | Imported Liqueur | 7 | 8 | 10.3% | ||
| Total Leading Brands2 | 3,204 | 3,288 | 2.6% | |||
| 1 Based on unrounded data. 2 Addition of columns may not agree due to rounding. Source: IMPACT DATABANK © 2025 |
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Tagged : Hendrick’s, Milagro, William Grant
