Campari CEO Matteo Fantacchiotti has quit after just five months at the helm of the Italian spirits group.
The decision of Fantacchiotti – who replaced long-standing CEO Bob Kunze-Concewitz in April – to stand down was a personal one, Campari said.
It comes after comments made by Fantacchiotti last week in which he described the current financial quarter as “still quite soft” for the spirits industry.
His comments caused shares in Campari to dip by almost 6% last week. The Aperol brand owner was later forced to clarify that they did not relate to its own specific performance, but to the category more widely.
Campari said it had established a leadership transition committee while it sought a replacement for Fantacchiotti.
The committee will b led by Kunze-Concewitz alongside CFO Paolo Marchesini and the group’s general counsel and business development officer Fabio Di Fede, who have been named interim co-CEOs.
Fantacchiotti joined Campari in 2020 from brewer Carlsberg. Prior to being appointed CEO he was group deputy CEO and before this, managing director of its Asia Pacific division.
“It has been a privilege for me to be part of Campari Group for almost five years and to lead this organisation since April 2024,” Fantacchiotti said. “While I have now taken the decision to leave, I express my deepest gratitude to all stakeholders, particularly the chairman, the board of directors and the leadership team.”
Campari chairman Luca Garavoglia insisted Campari had “very solid future ahead”.
“In continuity with the past, we’ll continue focusing on building our brands to keep on generating profitable growth and industry outperformance in the long run, as we have done since we went public in 2001,” he added.
Shares in the Netherlands-headquartered Campari slid by 6.4% in early trading on Wednesday (18 September).
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