Stoli Group names Chris Caldwell Global CEO

Stoli Group, the global ultra-premium spirits and wines company the Global Distributor of which is SPI Spirits (Cyprus), has announced significant changes in leadership roles, namely the appointment of Chris Caldwell as its new Global CEO, Artem Pozdnyakov as Chief Financial Officer, and Mark Federighi as President North America.

According to an announcement from the company, Caldwell is described as a seasoned spirits leader who has served as Stoli Group CFO for the past three years and has worked closely with Pozdnyakov who served as Stoli Group's global financial controller. Federighi, a spirits and wine leader, is new to the Stoli family.

"As an integral member of the Stoli Group executive team, Chris has proven time and again that he has the strategic & financial acumen, as well as the leadership skills needed in today's CEO," commented Yuri Shefler, Stoli Founder and Owner. "Ensuring continuity of leadership, Chris and Artem, will play pivotal roles as we look to further diversify through acquisitions and brand expansion. We are beyond thrilled that Mark will be joining them in support of our aggressive growth goals."

Caldwell brings a wealth of experience to the position, having held various leadership roles in private equity, PLC, co-operative & consulting businesses across the globe. His career is hallmarked by transforming both business and organisational performance and creating significant shareholder value. Prior to joining Stoli he drove the turn-around of the PE backed Enotria & Coe, a prominent UK beverage business, from loss-making to profitability and refinanced the business. Previously he held senior positions in Americana Foods, Fonterra Co-Operative Group & Diageo PLC as well as a stint running his own consulting business which focussed on transformation projects.

Artem Pozdnyakov joined Stoli Group in 2022 from DTEK Renewables International where he served as CFO, as well as board member of several Dutch holding companies. While there he managed mergers and acquisitions, due diligence, treasury and corporate finance. Additionally, he set and maintained the organizations ESG strategy. Pozdnyakov has deep domain expertise in the management of liquidity and markets, as well as acting as liaison to credit and banking institutions.

A bottom-line results-oriented leader, Federighi will head Stoli Group's newly aligned North American sales, marketing, and operations executives. In his previous role at O'Neill Vintners and Distillers, the 10th largest US winery, Federighi filled the mission-critical position of Chief Sales Officer. While there, he was responsible for the company's increasing development and expansion efforts of the commercial business. In fact, in his seven years there he was instrumental in growing the topline revenue more than tenfold. Working to build O'Neill's national wholesaler network, gaining key partnerships with the largest wholesalers and customers in the U.S., Federighi left a foundational legacy. Previously, while at Young's Market Company, Federighi led the Strategic Accounts group in Northern California. Prior to that, he led the Pepsico DSD business for Safeway nationally. Earlier in his career, he held key roles at Campari America and Diageo after spending his first 10 years in the business at the E&J Gallo Winery.

"The past few years at Stoli Group have been incredibly rewarding, and I am immensely proud of the value that I created as CFO," commented Chris Caldwell, Global CEO, Stoli Group. "I am honoured to work alongside Artem, Mark and the rest of the leadership team as we begin a new journey of innovation and expansion for Stoli Group. We are ready to hit the ground running."

Spanning over 176 markets worldwide, Stoli Group collaborates with a network of 200 distributors. Headquartered in Luxembourg, the company's production facilities in Argentina, Latvia, Spain, Mexico and the United States have a rich heritage dating back to the early part of the last century. Its US Distributor is Stoli Group USA, LLC, New York, NY and its Global Distributor is SPI Spirits (Cyprus) Limited.