William Grant managing director quits

William Grant & Sons managing director Patrick Albaladejo is leaving the company to return to his native France. It is not known whether he has a job lined up.

William Grant & Sons managing director Patrick Albaladejo is leaving the company to return to his native France. It is not known whether he has a job lined up.

His is the third in a series of senior management departures from the distiller this year. International marketing director Tim Dewey (MW August 7) and group managing director Patrick Thomas (MW May 22) have both left in the past few months. The company is in the middle of a &£2.5m advertising pitch for the Glenfiddich whisky brand.

Albaladejo will leave William Grant & Sons at the end of the year. He will be replaced by former Bass Beers marketing director Simon Macdonald, who will also take on overall responsibility for sales and marketing.

Macdonald is currently Citibank managing director of business banking for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Macdonald will oversee the pitch for the Glenfiddich account alongside group marketing director for malts Paul Godfrey. The incumbent on the account is McCann-Erickson.

The pitch was initially called by Dewey. It is believed that both Dewey and Thomas were asked to leave the family-run business following a disagreement over strategy.

Last year, William Grant handed Universal McCann its global strategic media planning account (MW September 19, 2002). John Ayling & Associates handles media buying and planning in the UK.