Leading independent spirits distributor Mangrove Global has expanded its marketing team with the appointment of four new spirits specialists.
The expansion of ‘team purple’ comes soon after Mangrove was bought by French conglomerate, Groupe Bernard Hayot (GBH), bringing it into the fold of the SPIRIBAM portfolio.
The first spirits aficionado joining the team is Alberto Spolverato, who takes on the role as Brand manager for Molinari, Giffard, Pampelle, and Don Q. Spolverato’s experience includes Italian based Montenegro Group, where he developed and implemented marketing strategies for brands such as Amaro Montenegro and Select Aperitivo.
Joining Mangrove as brand manager for Mark Anthony brands, Bearface and Glendalough as well as Portobello Road Distillery, Louis Royer, True Believers and Casa Lumbre brands is Stefanie Vigilante. Vigilante carved out her spirits expertise at Axiom Brands – so she’s well experienced in the ways to disrupt a category as an independent producer. Her experience spans a variety of spirits, but with previous roles in experiential events, she’ll undoubtedly bring added pzazz to Mangrove activations. She even knows a fair bit about whisky investment – a skill which will undoubtedly have the wider Mangrove team picking her brains!
Next up is Kristal Roach, the new brand manager for Mangrove’s whisky portfolio. With experience of marketing in the hospitality sector before moving to the spirits industry, Roach brings key insight from the other side of the bar that she’ll be sure to share with Mangrove brands. Her most recent role was with Tampa Bay based Stansfeld Scott, a distributor bringing premium spirits, wine, and consumer products to 35 islands across the Caribbean.
Mangrove’s final new appointment Ashera Goonewardene joins the company from SPIRIBAM, representing its various rum and rhum brands. Goonewardene is a bit of a boffin on all things Rhum Agricole and has been a vocal promoter of the category across the on-trade.
Speaking on Rhum Agricole, she said: “It’s truly a product of French Caribbean culture, the depth of its history, the terroir and beauty of each island, cuisine, and fundamentally the people. It’s my mission to share, motivate, and educate on the subject.”
An award-winning bartender in her own right, Mangrove’s new brand ambassador/manager brings barrels of knowledge to the team as an advocate of French-Caribbean spirits.
Nick Gillett, managing director of Mangrove Global said of the new appointments: “I think most of the spirits brands who work with us would say that team purple are a great bunch of good humans. We know our stuff, we work collaboratively with brands, and we don’t settle for run of the mill marketing. Each of these new appointments fit these criteria perfectly.
“To be able to welcome not one but four new experts to the team is testament to everything we’re doing here at Mangrove. As a group we’re curious, we don’t shy away from a bit of disruption, and we love new energy. I can guarantee you there will be plenty of that!”
Steph McGovern
Lucy Edwards