SINGAPORE, 18 October 2021 – Since commencing his new role as CEO of Proof & Company in April, Paul Broadbent has been focused on building the best team to guide the rapidly expanding drinks company in Asia into its next phase of growth. As part of this growth strategy, three key appointments have been made in the past month adding to two prior appointments in Trisha Chan (General Counsel) and Damian Kaehler (General Manager – Australasia), who joined Proof & Company earlier in the year.
In a commitment to strengthen the company’s brand building reputation, Proof & Company has appointed Vienna Thompson into the newly created role of Head of Marketing.
Vienna is a seasoned brand, communications and marketing professional with over 15 years’ experience in APAC. She prides herself on a non-traditional career trajectory that has spanned agencies, consultancies and in-house roles across multiple industries, thus bringing a different perspective to the drinks and consultancy business.
Based in the Singapore headquarters, Vienna will lead an expanding marketing team across APAC, building not only the Proof & Company brand but the 50+ extraordinary spirits brands within the portfolio with a focus on consumer and brand experience executions across the Proof & Company markets.
“Proof is an intoxicating (shameless pun) business for a brand marketer; with an entrepreneurial and creative foundation, portfolio of exciting partner brands, passionate people, spirited community… and I’m thrilled to join the newly formed leadership team tasked to evolve an already cool, highly regarded brand. The opportunities, and fine drinking occasions, are endless.”
In Proof & Company China, Craig Aldous has been appointed as the General Manager, replacing Chris Lowder who exited the business in July after a month-long transition between the two. Craig brings a wealth of knowledge in doing business in China with 10 years with Elders China as CEO and more recently CEO of Woolworths China (including Summergate Wine and Spirits). One of the largest wine importers in China, Summergate employed 400 staff and represented over 80 brands of wines and spirits.
During his time with Woolworths China, Craig developed a customer-centric culture within the organisation, following the mantra, “If your job is not to serve the customer then it is to support those people who are serving the customer”.
“China is a challenging market but presents opportunities for premium brands – which Proof & Company has in abundance! I’m excited about the portfolio and the calibre of partners we work with in the region, as well as the visionary initiatives the company is taking to promote environmental sustainability through its ecoSPIRITS program.”
The third and most recent appointment is that of Brandon Grusd as General Manager of the Southeast Asia region based in Singapore. Grusd’s history before Proof & Company includes three years with Maritime & Mercantile International with headquarters in Dubai, UAE and spanning 16 other geographies, through which he undertook a variety of roles in different sectors, including; Head of Spirit Education, Non Alcoholic Category Management for International Markets & FMCG, Head of New Product Innovation & Onboarding, Category and Brand Management for Speciality Products, Corporate Social Responsibility Leader and Advocate and most recently WSET L3 Educator.
Prior to his time with Maritime & Mercantile International, Brandon held a senior role in Dubai as Group Operations Manager, responsible for the management and growth of consultancy project teams throughout the region and abroad – experience which is crucial for the work that Proof Creative does in Singapore and globally. Brandon will now relocate to Singapore with his family to drive the market that started it all for Proof & Company 10 years ago.
“I have been impressed with the growth, innovation and urgency of Proof & Company from afar for some time now and I could not be more excited to be joining the team in Singapore. They have effectively expanded through this pandemic by cultivating strong partnerships while maintaining notoriety in the APAC region. I will look to further build team capabilities, driving forward our consumer and brand building focus areas and continue to deliver and grow award winning concepts and distribution through our network.“
Proof & Company continues their expansion in APAC under the leadership of Broadbent, with a simple strategy to reach more customers, more often. Taking premium craft spirits to more regions of Asia and more accounts, especially the retail channel in all markets, has driven the growth of the business, even during challenging trading periods in the region.
“Each of these appointments have a proven track record in strong leadership which resulted in improved financial performance, increased satisfaction from brand owners and stakeholders, and higher engagement scores from their people, which were all the qualities I was seeking while building out this new leadership group.”