LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Brown-Forman announced today that Campbell Brown has been promoted to the new position of President, Old Forester, effective May 1. Brown, who is a fifth generation descendent of company founder George Garvin Brown (whose signature remains on the bottle today), will be responsible for the worldwide growth of the Old Forester trademark. He will be charged with leveraging the current momentum of Old Forester, which has experienced a recent growth in sales for the first time in decades, to develop it into a national and international iconic American bourbon brand. Brown will also guide the development of the Old Forester Distillery on Louisville’s historic West Main Street.

Campbell will report to Lawson Whiting, Chief Brands and Strategy Officer. “With the bourbon business booming and Brown-Forman’s commitment to Old Forester evident in our substantial investment in building the Old Forester Distillery, Campbell is very well suited to lead this venerable brand to national and global growth,” said Whiting. “This is particularly significant when one considers that Brown-Forman was founded in 1870 with Old Forester as the first bottled bourbon brand.”

A proven alcohol beverage executive with over 20 years of experience developing strategic business and brand plans within the United States and emerging markets, Brown most recently managed Brown-Forman’s wine and spirits portfolio for Canada and the Midwest in the U.S. In addition, he is a member of the company's Corporate Strategy Committee, serves on the Brown-Forman/Brown Family Shareholders Committee, and is on the board of the DendriFund, the environmental sustainability charitable foundation established by Brown-Forman. Brown is one of 11 fifth-generation Brown family members currently employed by the company.

“I am very pleased to take on the assignment of leading Old Forester back to the prominence it once had within Brown-Forman and in the bourbon industry,” said Brown. “It has remained a favorite among true bourbon aficionados, as well as a source of great pride among company employees and Brown family members. I look forward to helping introduce Old Forester to a new generation of bourbon lovers in the U.S. and around the world.”

Brown is a member of the Board of Directors for Republic Bank and Trust and The James Graham Brown Cancer Center. He earned degrees from Rollins College and the University of Miami.

For more than 140 years, Brown-Forman Corporation has enriched the experience of life by responsibly building fine quality beverage alcohol brands, including Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey, Southern Comfort, Finlandia, Jack Daniel’s & Cola, Canadian Mist, Korbel, Gentleman Jack, el Jimador, Herradura, Sonoma-Cutrer, Chambord, New Mix, Tuaca, and Woodford Reserve. Brown-Forman’s brands are supported by nearly 4,200 employees and sold in approximately 160 countries worldwide. For more information about the company, please visit http://www.brown-forman.com/.

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Source: Brown-Forman Corporation