#92, Rob Cullins, liquor industry titan, current CEO of Disaronno and former CEO of Stoli Group

I've known Rob for several decades now; we met in Korea when he was MD for global liquor distributor Maxxium, and I was doing cocktail seminars there for bartenders.
We've had personal and professional intersections  - not to mention more than a few martinis here and there - ever since, as he racked up a truly stellar resume in the liquor biz: Diageo, Shaw-Ross, Maxxium, Gruppo Montenegro (where he was also MD), and Disaronno, where he's currently CEO.
But, as he's a former Stoli CEO, I thought I'd have him on this week, as Stoli USA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy just last week, which came as a bit of a shock to one and all.
So sit down - like me and Rob did - with a nice large vodka martini to hand, and listen to us dive into the Stoli saga, the current state of play in liquor, the role of private equity, what Rob thinks of what's in the trade news these days, and why he'll absolutely hire someone without a college degree...

Rob on X/Twitter: https://x.com/rbc1964?s=11&t=kTsTPMPK0kgHLvK8ldrFXQ
Rob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-cullins-1419346?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_mweb&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile

Get in touch with Duff!

Podcast business enquiries: consulting@liquidsolutions.org
(PR friends: we’re only interested in having your client on if they can talk for a couple of hours about OTHER things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is.
They need to be able to hang.
Oh, plus we don't edit, and we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, or listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview or Zoom.)

Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: philip@liquidsolutions.org

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