Bacardi Ltd has appointed Todd Grice, an 18-year veteran of Coca-Cola, as senior vice-president and general counsel.

Mr Grice brings 25 years of legal practice to Bacardi, with expertise in corporate governance, competition law, securities law, intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, and commercial transactions.

This appointment follows the long-planned retirement of Eduardo Sanchez who served as Bacardi’s senior vice-president and general counsel for 17 years.

Pending approval by Bermuda immigration authorities, Mr Grice will relocate to the island and will report to Mahesh Madhavan, chief executive officer. He will also join the company’s Global Leadership Team.

At Bacardi, Mr Grice will be responsible for legal and government affairs including legal strategy, governance and compliance, strategic transactions, and dispute resolution and regulatory matters.

Mr Madhavan said he was pleased to welcome Mr Grice to the team. “From the beginning, we were impressed with his passion for developing teams and his commitment to being a positive and purposeful business leader and partner,” Mr Madhavan said.

“Todd understands and appreciates how legacy brands, like our 158-year-old business, maintain relevance and connection generation after generation while always staying true to who you are and what you stand for.”

Mr Grice comes to Bacardi from Coca-Cola where he gained a global perspective, adopting roles based in London, Tokyo, Shanghai, Atlanta, along with a board leadership role for the business in Africa.

Bacardi stated: “As a family-owned business with a strong company culture, equally appealing to Bacardi was Mr Grice’s work at Coca-Cola to embed purpose, values, vision, and mission throughout the company’s business practices and policies.”

Mr Grice said: “I’ve always admired the global, premium brands under the Bacardi company and have such a strong regard for how a family-owned business maintains a passion for its people, its business and its brands while spanning decades of industry leadership.”