September 9/Food Business Week -- Brown-Forman announced the appointment of John Kristin "Kris" Sirchio as its new chief marketing officer, effective November 16, 2009. As chief marketing officer, Sirchio will be a member of Brown-Forman's senior executive team, reporting to Brown-Forman chief executive officer Paul Varga and leading Brown-Forman's marketing function, including long-term brand strategy, brand positioning and primary brand identity, consumer insights, design, innovation, and marketing services.

Sirchio joins Brown-Forman after working the last five years at Syngenta AG, one of the world's leading agribusinesses based in Basel, Switzerland, where his title was global head, Professional Products. In this role, Sirchio was responsible for setting the overall global vision, growth strategy, and operation plans for an important segment of Syngenta's business portfolio. During his tenure there, his division delivered four consecutive years of sales growth, with a compound annual growth rate of more than 10%, transforming Professional Products into Syngenta's highest performing organization within two years.

Previously, Sirchio spent 13 years at Procter & Gamble, serving in a variety of marketing leadership positions in the company's European operations.

"Kris Sirchio is a hands-on leader with a reputation for strong brand building, marketing, innovation, and team-based success," said Varga. "His excellent global consumer products experience at P&G, coupled with his leadership in establishing and growing significant new business opportunities at Syngenta, make Kris the right choice to become Brown-Forman's new chief marketing officer."

From the September 14, 2009, Prepared Foods E-dition