Brown Forman appoints Jack Daniel’s chief

Family-run brewer Brown Forman has appointed a member of its own clan as the new European marketing chief of its flagship whiskey brand Jack Daniel’s.

Garvin Brown, who works alongside chairman and chief executive Owsley Brown II as his co-ordinator, will be based in the UK and is expected to take up his new role in May.

Brown will report to the senior vice-president and brand director for Jack Daniel’s, Mike Keys.

The appointment comes just a few months after the chief executive of Brown Forman beverages, Paul Varga, admitted that the whiskey market had weakened considerably during the past year. He cited how recent changes in drinking and driving legislation in France were hurting all spirits companies, including Jack Daniel’s. Meanwhile, Germany, which is a big market for the brand, is suffering from poor economic growth.

Brown Forman is thought to be considering a UK-based agency for its &£5.2m Jack Daniel’s and Southern Comfort advertising business (MW last week). The above-the-line creative account for Jack Daniel’s is held by US-based agency Simmons Durham. It is not clear whether the new European marketing director for the American whiskey brand will be responsible for appointing an advertising agency.