Vijay Subramaniam to lead Bacardi's Asia Pacific, Mid-East and Africa operations

Global spirits company Bacardi has elevated Vijay S. Subramaniam as its new managing director for Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa (AMEA). Effective immediately, Subramaniam, 49, will be responsible for leading commercial operations in the region for the company’s portfolio of premium spirits.

The company also announced that Sanjit Randhawa would be the managing director of India along with the operations in Southeast Asian region, which he took over recently. Randhawa has worked at Bacardi for more than a decade in diverse roles such as financial director for India operations, managing director for the Philippines.

According to the press release shared by the company, Subramaniam will be based in Dubai. In his new role, he will report to Bacardi CEO Mahesh Madhavan, and will join the global leadership team.

Commenting on the appointments, Madhavan says, “As we continue to expand Bacardi’s portfolio of premium brands in these vast and fast-growing markets, Vijay’s keen understanding of the opportunities and complexities unique to this region, and his ability to brilliantly adapt global brands to make them locally relevant, will be vital to our continued global growth.”

With Bacardi since 2013, Subramaniam served as managing director of India. Before joining Bacardi, he spent 12 years in various general management roles within AMEA working in diverse, multi-cultural environments.

Speaking about his new role, Subramaniam says, “AMEA represents a once-in-a-lifetime growth opportunity for Bacardi, and our team’s mission is to continue to build awareness and esteem for our iconic brands with new consumers throughout the diverse and dynamic markets within our region.”