Constellation Brands beer executive exits amid tariff uncertainty

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Constellation Brands said Bill Renspie stepped down from the Corona brewer where he most recently served as the chief customer officer of its beer division.

A search for his replacement is underway, a company spokesperson said in a statement to Food Dive.

“In the meantime, we have a strong Beer Sales Leadership Team that remains focused on working with our Gold Network distributor partners to accelerate momentum for our beer portfolio in the year ahead,” the person added.

Renspie started at Constellation in 2002, with his last day coming on March 19.

The shakeup comes amid slumping sales and uncertainty surrounding beer imports from Mexico.

In a note to investors, TD Cowen analyst Robert Moskow said the departure of Renspie could spell trouble for Constellation’s performance. The brewer’s total sales declined 1.3% during the past month, according to the investment bank.

“While incidents like these don’t necessarily stem from business performance, we still view it as an important data point in the context of [Constellation’s] decelerating sales trends in our tracking data and the significant uncertainties facing the company’s important Hispanic consumer cohort,” Moskow said.

Constellation also is mulling over whether it should sell some of its higher-end wine brands to the Duckhorn Portfolio to get cash, according to the TD Cowen note.

Constellation is facing headwinds from a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico by President Donald Trump, which took effect earlier this month on products deemed non-compliant with the United State-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Imports make up nearly 85% of annual revenues for the maker of Modelo, Corona and Pacifico, according to data from Piper Sandler.