C. Drew Desarno Email & Phone Number

Fairfield, Ct, Us

Greater New York City Area

Since 2007, I have conducted 200+consulting projects: Sixteen (16) legal cases as Global Beverage Expert Witness (six for plaintiffs, ten for defendants); Testified in two United States District Courts (Jury trial in SDNY and Bench trial in NDCA); Testified before three Confidential Arbitration Panels (two at the INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR DISPUTE RESOLUTION OF THE AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION); wrote eight Expert Reports and six Expert Rebuttal Reports; completed eight Depositions; 28 industry-expert presentations; 150+ individual consultations; Distilled Spirits Industry Expert Report for the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO); private-equity research; startup-brand launch-plans; an FEI Front End of Innovation Conference presentation; and International-distribution of wine brands.Providing an insider's view of global Beverage Industry dynamics to investment and legal clients through Expert Networks: Coleman, Guidepoint, ThirdBridge, Magellan, ORC, and Round Table Group. Please contact me at +1-914-841-7300 to set up a consultation.

• Founder and leader of eight-person Marketing Department for newly formed, stand alone 50-employee company, Pernod Ricard Americas Travel Retail, driving double-digit volume growth to over 1-million cases, contributing over $20-million profit in Americas Duty Free and Resort channels• Supported President on external affairs, industry associations, training, and media communications• Strategic marketer for all Pernod Ricard wine & spirits brands, developing and executing strategic marketing plans, targeting global international travelers

• Created marketing team for a new Global Export and Travel Retail division within Pernod Ricard USA• Launched major strategic initiatives, including new-products and global marketing programs, executed with in-market partners, for the export product lines of Wild Turkey Bourbon, Seagram’s Gin, Seagram’s Vodka, and Seagram's Coolers• Export territories included China and Hong Kong, Japan, Australia, the Middle East, South Africa, Europe, the Americas, and Travel Retail.

Created Marketing Director position; refocusing the sales division on marketing and establishing ties to Seagram Global Marketing while creating marketing programs for all Seagram spirits & wine brands: targeting US military personnel, residents of the Caribbean, and global international travelers along the travel trail (airports, border stores, airlines, and cruise lines).Recommendation, received 3/21/14 from my boss, Mike Ford, who was Vice President, Managing Director: "it is my pleasure to provide some insight into Drew DeSarno: I was aware of Drew's joining Seagram from the outset of his career in 1985. Drew began in market research, conducting surveys and reporting on local market conditions at the consumer, retail and wholesale level throughout the United States. He then undertook a series of sales management positions of increasing responsibility in various states from Missouri to Texas to Connecticut. In 1994, Drew returned to New York to join the Absolut group. It was this work that ultimately caught my attention. As an integral part of the ABSOLUT marketing team, he was intimately involved in one of the wine and spirits industry's great success stories. When the senior marketing position in Duty Free Americas became available in 1999, Drew was a natural fit. Our business was global, challenging and complex, but Drew was more than up to the task. Bright and well educated, he was very confident in what he knew and very quick to learn what he had not yet experienced. His work was always timely, thorough and accurate. I depended on him to drive our marketing efforts across borders and channels and the results were excellent. (Our small team of 15 achieved over $65M in annual sales at a very high rate of profit.) Drew is very articulate and listens as well as he speaks. He is a skilled writer and was always adept at putting together concise marketing plans, unique to the situations that had arisen. I would, without hesitation, recommend Drew DeSarno."

• Created innovative marketing, featuring cutting-edge artists, designers, and celebrities, which increased sales +32% in three years (from 3.35 million to 4.44 million cases) while simultaneously unifying the ABSOLUT brand message and increasing previously declining brand-equity measures• Coordinated the design, development, and US launch of ABSOLUT MANDRIN. ABSOLUT MANDRIN sold 500,000-cases, capturing 72% market share, in the first 12 months. Recognized as most successful new product introduction in distilled-spirits industry history.• Controlled $55-million annual marketing budget, directing the advertising agency, TBWA chiat/day, and three public relations agencies for general-market, ethnic, and LGBT consumers

• Led the design, development, and implementation of new ABSOLUT VODKA holiday gift packaging by Swedish artist Yrjö Edelmann, resulting in 22% sales increase versus previous year• Drove efficiency, visibility and information transparency throughout the international marketing organization by creating the ABSOLUT VODKA Point Of Image Handbook and Global Promotional Item Catalog

• Created award-winning, breakthrough point-of-sale materials by bringing ABSOLUT VODKA’s advertising Artist Series to life at point-of-sale, using a $7-million merchandising budget• Won Seagram Americas’ "Made it Happen" award for establishing stand-alone ABSOLUT Marketing Services Dept

Increasingly senior Sales, Marketing, & Distributor Management positions at Seagram:State Manager - Connecticut & Rhode Island 1991 - 1994Assistant State Manager - Louisiana & Arkansas 1989 - 1991Assistant State Manager - Missouri 1988 - 1989Chain Store / Key Account Manager - Houston, TX 1987 - 1988Sales Representative - Kansas City, MO 1986 - 1987• Achieved volume and profit targets by developing sales objectives, strategies, incentive programs, training programs, and pricing & discount activity for sixteen (16) independent distributor sales forces• Created retailer and consumer On-Premise & Off-Premise promotional programs, rebates and couponing, sponsorships, public relations, and event marketing, and product sampling and training programs• Re-opened neglected sales territories, gaining new distribution and establishing key account relationships• Managed Federal, State, and Local Legal-Compliance within highly-regulated beverage alcohol industry

• Traveled the country with teams conducting multi-week in-market research studies for senior-management at Seagram, the US wine & spirits CPG market-leader and industry training ground

Bachelor Of Arts, Cultural Anthropology/Comparative Cultures

Activities and Societies: University Singers, Treasurer of Anthropology Club, Crosswinds (DJ for University Union), Madison House Student.

Graduate Business Courses: Marketing, Finance, Business Law, Statistical Forecasting, Hr Management