Adrian Atkinson leaves Pernod

Pernod Ricard’s wine development director Adrian Atkinson has left the company as part of a restructure of its UK commercial and marketing divisions.

Atkinson spent eight years with the world’s second largest drinks group with responsibility for overseeing its wine strategy, including new product development. He formed part of a team that helped Campo Viejo increase value sales by 20% in the UK last year.

The company released a statement saying: “Pernod Ricard UK confirms that Adrian Atkinson has left the business following eight years of service as wine development director. We would like to take the opportunity to thank Adrian for his loyal service and commitment to the business and wish him the greatest success for the future.”

Pernod described his departure as “one of a small number of changes within the UK business across the commercial and marketing teams as part of the global Pernod Ricard project to deliver operational efficiency.”

Earlier this year, Pernod Ricard CEO Pierre Pringuet outlined plans for cost savings after the group was forced to reduce its earnings forecast for 2013/14.

As part of this drive to improve efficiency, Pernod launched “Project Allegro”, a programme designed to slash overheads by €150 million annually in three years time. At the time, Pringuet confirmed: “Let’s be honest, there will be redundancies.”