Bulmer’s marketer quits for Lion Nathan

Embattled cider giant Bulmer’s marketing controller is leaving to head the European division of Australasian brewery Lion Nathan, which owns Castlemaine XXXX, Steinlager and Tooheys.

Andrew Carter has been appointed director of UK/Europe at Lion Nathan. He will manage the &£9m relaunch of XXXX alongside Interbrew UK marketing director Richard Evans. Interbrew and Lion Nathan appointed Mother to handle advertising for the brand in August (MW August 22). In addition, Carter will develop and manage distributor relationships on Lion Nathan brands across Europe. At present, XXXX is distributed in Italy by Carlsberg, but the rest of Europe is “a blank slate”, he says.

In August, Lion Nathan signed a deal with Interbrew which gives the Belgian beer giant responsibility for brewing, sales and marketing of the Australian lager XXXX in the UK from 2003. Carlsberg currently holds the business.

Carter was promoted to marketing controller last year, and was second-in-command to group marketing director John Eggleton (MW January 25, 2001). He has worked with Lion Nathan in the past. He was marketing manager for beer at a time when Bulmer’s distributed Steinlager, and then moved to become marketing director for Bulmer’s in Australia and New Zealand, where the two companies have a joint venture.

In recent months, Bulmer’s has been hit by a number of profits warnings and the discovery of a &£3.3m “hole” in its accounts, which caused the resignation of chief executive Mike Hughes and finance director Alan Flockhart in September.