General Manager of Jack Daniel's Production to Retire; Veteran Brown-Forman Executive Named as Succe

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General Manager of Jack Daniel's Production to Retire; Veteran Brown-Forman Executive Named as Successor

LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Brown-Forman Corporation (NYS: BFA) (NYS: BFB) announced today that Tommy Beam, senior vice president and general manager of Jack Daniel's Production Operations in Lynchburg, Tennessee, is retiring from the company after 48 years of service. His official retirement date is July 31, 2013.

"Tommy Beam has had a truly remarkable career in one of the top jobs not only within Brown-Forman but in our entire industry," said Jane Morreau, senior vice president and chief production officer. "For the last eleven years he has led our entire Jack Daniel's production operations while overseeing several expansion projects during a time of significant growth for the brand. Tommy has been a great leader and we wish him nothing but the best during his retirement."


Beam joined the Jack Daniel Distillery in 1965 as an accountant and served in a succession of roles with increasing responsibility until being named general manager of all Jack Daniel's production operations in 2002. During this time, Beam led a team of 435 employees to record levels of production, reaching shipments of about 11 million nine liter cases of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey worldwide during fiscal 2012.

Brown-Forman also announced that Larry Combs has been named to succeed Beam as senior vice president and general manager of Jack Daniel's operations. Combs joined Brown-Forman in 1992 and has been involved in nearly every aspect of the company's production operations over the last two decades. For the last three years, he led Brown-Forman's Technical Services group, including Quality Assurance, R&D, Engineering, Packaging and Environmental, with outstanding results. In addition, he has guided our European Operations and External Manufacturing Operations globally. Combs will continue to oversee external manufacturing operations in addition to his new role as general manager of all Jack Daniel's production operations.

"Larry has demonstrated excellent leadership ability and we believe is the ideal person to take on the responsibility of managing the productions operations of our largest and most important brand," stated Morreau.

For more than 140 years, Brown-Forman Corporation has enriched the experience of life by responsibly building fine quality beverage alcohol brands, including Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey, Southern Comfort, Finlandia, Jack Daniel's & Cola, Canadian Mist, Korbel, Gentleman Jack, el Jimador, Herradura, Sonoma-Cutrer, Chambord, New Mix, Tuaca, and Woodford Reserve. Brown-Forman's brands are supported by nearly 4,000 employees and sold in approximately 160 countries worldwide. For more information about the Company, please visit http://www.brown-forman.com/.

Important Information on Forward-Looking Statements:

This report contains statements, estimates, and projections that are "forward-looking statements" as defined under U.S. federal securities laws. Words such as "aim," "anticipate," "aspire," "believe," "envision," "estimate," "expect," "expectation," "intend," "may," "plan," "potential," "project," "pursue," "see," "will," "will continue," and similar words identify forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date we make them. Except as required by law, we do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors (many beyond our control) that could cause our actual results to differ materially from our historical experience or from our current expectations or projections. These risks and other factors include, but are not limited to:

  • declining or depressed global or regional economic conditions, particularly in the Euro zone; political, financial, or credit or capital market instability; supplier, customer or consumer credit or other financial problems; bank failures or governmental debt defaults

  • failure to develop or implement effective business, portfolio and brand strategies, including the increased U.S. penetration and international expansion of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey, innovation, marketing and promotional activity, and route-to-consumer

  • unfavorable trade or consumer reaction to our new products, product line extensions, price changes, marketing, or changes in formulation, flavor or packaging

  • inventory fluctuations in our products by distributors, wholesalers, or retailers

  • competitors' consolidation or other competitive activities such as pricing actions (including price reductions, promotions, discounting, couponing or free goods), marketing, category expansion, product introductions, entry or expansion in our geographic markets

  • declines in consumer confidence or spending, whether related to the economy (such as austerity measures, tax increases, high fuel costs, or higher unemployment), wars, natural or other disasters, weather, pandemics, security concerns, terrorist attacks or other factors

  • changes in tax rates (including excise, sales, VAT, tariffs, duties, corporate, individual income, dividends, capital gains) or in related reserves, changes in tax rules (e.g., LIFO, foreign income deferral, U.S. manufacturing and other deductions) or accounting standards, and the unpredictability and suddenness with which they can occur

  • governmental or other restrictions on our ability to produce, import, sell, price, or market our products, including advertising and promotion in either traditional or new media; regulatory compliance costs

  • business disruption, decline or costs related to organizational changes, reductions in workforce or other cost-cutting measures

  • lower returns or discount rates related to pension assets, interest rate fluctuations, inflation or deflation

  • fluctuations in the U.S. dollar against foreign currencies, especially the euro, British pound, Australian dollar, Polish zloty or Mexican peso

  • changes in consumer behavior or preferences and our ability to anticipate and respond to them, including societal attitudes or cultural trends that result in reduced consumption of our products; reduction of bar, restaurant, hotel or other on-premise business or travel

  • consumer shifts away from brown spirits, premium-priced spirits, or spirits products generally; shifts to discount store purchases or other price-sensitive consumer behavior

  • distribution and other route-to-consumer decisions or changes that affect the timing of our sales, temporarily disrupt the marketing or sale of our products, or result in implementation-related or higher fixed costs

  • effects of acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures, business partnerships or investments, or their termination, including acquisition, integration or termination costs, disruption or other difficulties, or impairment in the recorded value of assets (e.g. receivables, inventory, fixed assets, goodwill, trademarks and other intangibles)

  • lower profits, due to factors such as fewer or less profitable used barrel sales, lower production volumes, decreased demand or inability to meet consumer demand for products we sell, sales mix shift toward lower priced or lower margin SKUs, or cost increases in energy or raw materials, such as grain, agave, wood, glass, plastic, or closures

  • natural disasters, climate change, agricultural uncertainties, environmental or other catastrophes, or other factors that affect the availability, price, or quality of agave, grain, glass, energy, closures, plastic, water, or wood, or that cause supply chain disruption or disruption at our production facilities or aging warehouses

  • negative publicity related to our company, brands, marketing, personnel, operations, business performance or prospects

  • product counterfeiting, tampering, contamination, or recalls and resulting negative effects on our sales, brand equity, or corporate reputation

  • significant costs or other adverse developments stemming from class action, intellectual property, governmental, or other major litigation; or governmental investigations of beverage alcohol industry business, trade, or marketing practices by us, our importers, distributors, or retailers

For further information regarding these risks, please refer to the "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections of our annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC.



Brown-Forman Corporation
Phil Lynch, 502-774-7928
Vice President
Director Corporate Communications and Public Relations
or
Jay Koval, 502-774-6903
Vice President
Director Investor Relations

KEYWORDS: United States North America Kentucky

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