Rodney Williams

Rodney Williams served as President of the Diageo Beer Company and President, Diageo Canada. Based in New York, his duties ranged from overseeing the iconic Guinness Beer along with Smirnoff Ice and Lone River Ready-To-Drink brands, and Diageo’s entire portfolio – from Johnnie Walker, Don Julio and Casamigos to Bulliet, Tanqueray and Bailey’s – in Canada.

Rodney joined from Moët Hennessy USA (MHUSA), where he spent 11 years in varied roles in North America, including a final role there as Global (Maison) President of Belvedere Vodka. He oversaw Belvedere becoming the first distillery to win a green energy grant from the European Commission, having cut CO2 emissions by over 80%. Prior to this, he served as CMO of MHUSA, including Dom Perignon, Krug, Moët and Ruinart Champagnes, Glenmorangie and Ardbeg Scotch, and Hennessy Cognac. He joined MHUSA as SVP of Hennessy, where his team developed and deployed the award-winning Never Stop. Never Settle campaign, which has resulted in three-fold growth in case volume and net profit from 2012-2017.

Before joining Moët Hennessy, Rodney was SVP of Jackson Family Wines, where he oversaw the largest new product launch in the company’s history with Kendall Jackson Avant, and Robert Mondavi, where his team drove growth of their lifestyle wine brands both before and after the company was acquired by Constellation Brands. Rodney got his start in brand management at Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson – where his team was responsible for driving the seven-brand Wound Care franchise (from Band-Aid to sports medicine) to #1 in both the US and Canada.

Rodney holds an MBA from the Kellogg School at Northwestern University and a BA from Amherst College. He is a strategic advisor to several startups. Additionally, he serves as a trustee of the James Beard Foundation, director of the National Review Board of Motion Pictures, board member of the ETHS Foundation, and a member of the Executive Leadership Council.