Mike Howard, based in Dallas, Texas, will lead the North American Cluster, covering the United States and Canada. André Duarte, based in São Paulo, Brazil, will head the Latin American Cluster, spanning South America, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Both bring extensive beverage and spirits industry experience along with market and distribution knowledge specific to their regions. The company frames the appointments as a way to bring commercial decision-making closer to local markets while pursuing a shared global strategy for its brand portfolio.
CEO Javier Pijoan said the company's international scale calls for pairing a global vision with local execution, and that Duarte and Howard add industry expertise to help accelerate growth.
Howard brings more than 25 years of experience in commercial leadership, brand building and operations, largely within the North American market, having held senior roles at both brand owners and distributors. Before joining Zamora Company, he was President North America for Stoli Group USA. Earlier, as Chief Commercial Officer at Altos Planos, he led commercial development for the tequila brand Mijenta, which grew sales more than 400% over three years. He also founded and led Southwest Spirits & Wine, growing it from $3.5 million to $30 million in revenue, and held senior roles at Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits, where he managed the P&L for a $600 million distribution business. Howard holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Stephen F. Austin State University and an Executive MBA from the Wharton School of Business.
Duarte brings more than 30 years of executive experience in the beverage and spirits industry, with a focus on commercial strategy, business development, distribution and marketing across Latin America and the Caribbean. He joins Zamora Company from Brown-Forman, where he held senior management positions, and has also held leadership roles at William Grant & Sons — including heading its Brazil operations — as well as at AB InBev. His market experience spans Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador, among others. In his new role, Duarte will focus on building on strong existing performance in Mexico, Brazil and Colombia while extending that model to other markets in the region. He holds a degree in Economics from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP) and a postgraduate degree in Business Administration from FGV – CEAG SP.
