Unlike the other companies on this list, the #5 placement must be shared by two CEOs. Desnoes and Geddes Ltd (D&G) was led by Mr. Alan Barnes, Managing Director of the company which trades as Red Stripe, and replaced upon his resignation effective July 1 by Mr. Renato Gonzalez, a Brazilian national, who is a seasoned Diageo leader with vast experience in manufacturing and a sterling leadership record.

Desnoes and Geddes Ltd (D&G) which trades under the Red Stripe name, is the manufacturer of a range of premium alcohol brands, spanning beers, stouts and other beverages. They also market and distribute a collection of internationally renowned premium spirit brands from their parent company Diageo plc, the world’s foremost premium drinks company. Diageo is listed both on the London and New York Stock Exchanges.

On July 1, 2009 Barnes took control of Diageo’s interests in the Northern Latin America and Caribbean zone. Coincidentally, in major restructuring months before the leadership shakeup, Jamaica had added to the NorthLAC Zone.

Alan Barnes has twenty years experience in the alcohol beverage industry and has worked across sales, innovation, marketing and general management in businesses in thirty-one countries throughout Europe and Africa. Alan was previously on the boards of Sierra Leone Breweries Ltd., Phoenix Beverage Ltd. (Mauritius), C.M.M.U.D.V (Reunion) and Seychelles Breweries Ltd. He has represented the private sector on government para-statal boards covering the Environment and Waste Management in Seychelles. He has a Bachelor of Arts with Honours degree in Economics from the University of Nottingham, England.

 Gonzalez also has twenty years experience in the consumer goods market in large multinationals across the world. He has a wide range of experience in supply chain management having designed and successfully implemented procedures and processes. Prior to his appointment, he was the Customer Operations Director of Diageo’s Global Supply Chain based in Amsterdam. He was responsible for order management and supply planning of Diageo’s number one brands and export from multi-plants worldwide. While he was Supply Chain Director for Diageo, Mexico he received two leadership awards for excellence in execution and inspirational leader. He has a degree from the Universidade de Cidade, Rio de Janiero, Brazil and speaks fluent Portuguese and Spanish.

D&G earned after-tax profits in 2011 of over $1 billion million reflecting an increase of 26.6%.  Trading profit was $1,423 million, a 36% year-on-year increase, primarily driven by reductions in sales and marketing costs.

Cost of sales reduced by $332 million or 5% when compared with last year. In July 2010 a restructuring was implemented in the Supply function to help right size the business in light of the volume reduction. This, coupled with additional production and distribution efficiency initiatives helped deliver the decrease in the cost of sales. Procurement savings were also supported by the revaluation of the Jamaican dollar. The gross profit margin improved by 3 percentage points on last year to 31%.

The total marketing cost was $1,484 million (2010: $1,499 million), of this amount $832 million was spent in the domestic segment as they continued to invest behind their core brands.

Red Stripe continues to make a significant difference in the communities they serve through the various programmes and projects of the D &G Foundation – Diageo Learning for Life projects and the Red Stripe Employees: Advocates of Care and Hope (REACH).

Through the Red Stripe Employees Advocates of Care and Hope (REACH) and the Diageo Learning for Life (DL4L) programmes, Red Stripe continued its rich legacy of supporting long-term sustainable initiatives in its communities. DL4L programmes moved from impacting 80 lives in 2010 to graduating 1,234 students this year. In addition to the graduates, an additional 469 students were enrolled in the programme at the end of May bringing to 1,705 the number of at-risk young people in depressed communities islandwide enrolled in 2011 alone.

According to Gonzalez, “we enter the new financial year with increased drive and optimism, which we have branded as “The Year of the Beer”. During this year our major focus will be on transformation of our business through three main areas: (i) Brand Value Creation; (ii) End-to-End Efficiencies; and (iii) Profitable Export Growth. Brand Value Creation – We will revive the Red Stripe brand through an aggressive media advertising campaign, major sponsorships, and an increased focus on activations and visibility in our communities. End-to-End Efficiencies will see us further reducing operational costs. The funds saved from this cost reduction will be reinvested in our brands. We will also continue to focus on equalization of the taxes on alcohol beverages, and will be seeking alternatives to be more cost competitive in the Caribbean. Profitable Export Growth – We will be reviewing our US export model and strengthening our export partnerships across different major beer players in the UK, Germany, and Brazil while seeking other major opportunities to enhance our brand penetration. This new focus will ensure that we have a stronger more profitable business in 2012, with an even stronger international brand.”

Interestingly enough, in August 2012, Red announced that it would change leadership for the third time in three years, following the appointment of Cedric Blair as head of the beer manufacturer. Blair, the then supply chain director at Red Stripe, took over as in September as general manager of the brewing giant from Renato Gonzalez, who returned to his native Brazil to lead newly acquired Diageo company Ypioca. We wait to see if Blair can follow other Red Stripe CEOs before him in recent years, to a place on this list. BM