Beam names Vidyut Arte as MD, India

Beam Inc. (NYSE: BEAM) today announced that Vidyut Arte, a veteran consumer goods leader with decades of experience in India and across Asia, will join the company as Managing Director of Beam India.  Arte, 51, joins Beam from Mondelez International, where he is currently Managing Director, Multi Category and Gum & Candy, South East Asia.  Over a 20-year career at Cadbury, now part of Mondelez, Arte served in roles of increasing responsibility, including leading sales and marketing for Cadbury India, leading the company’s business in China, and most recently, serving as Managing Director, Thailand, responsible for the combined Kraft and Cadbury business.  Arte’s appointment is effective December 2nd.

“We are very excited that Vidyut is joining Beam to lead our India business, including our market-leading Teacher’s Scotch brand, into its next stage of growth,” said Arthur Aroney, Managing Director for Emerging Markets in Beam’s Asia Pacific/South America segment.  “Vidyut is a proven brand-builder, growth driver and inspirational leader.  His management, sales and marketing experience in India and across Asia will be incredibly valuable as he and our team execute our profitable growth strategy with the utmost passion, integrity and skill.”

Arte succeeds Aroney, who has been managing the India business on an interim basis.  Arte is a graduate of Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology in Nagpur, India, and earned his MBA at Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies in Mumbai.  Arte and his family intend to relocate back to India from Thailand, where he is currently based.

Beam is one of the world’s leading premium spirits companies, Beam is ‘Crafting the Spirits that Stir the World’.  Consumers from all corners of the globe call for the company’s brands, including Jim Beam Bourbon, Maker's Mark Bourbon, Sauza Tequila, Pinnacle Vodka, Canadian Club Whisky, Courvoisier Cognac, Teacher's Scotch Whisky, Skinnygirl Cocktails, Cruzan Rum, Hornitos Tequila, Knob Creek Bourbon, Laphroaig Scotch Whisky, Kilbeggan Irish Whiskey, Larios Gin, Whisky DYC and DeKuyper Cordials.  Beam is focused on delivering superior performance with its unique combination of scale with agility and a strategy of Creating Famous Brands, Building Winning Markets and Fueling Our Growth. Beam and its 3,400 passionate associates worldwide generated 2012 sales of $2.5 billion (excluding excise taxes), volume of 38 million 9-liter equivalent cases and some of the industry’s fastest growing innovations.

Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, Beam is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BEAM and is included in the S&P 500 Index and the MSCI World Index.  For more information on Beam, its brands, and its commitment to social responsibility,