OREANDA-NEWS. SPI Group, owner of Stolichnaya® Premium vodka, has announced the appointment of Robert DiMartino as Vice President of human resources for its US operations. Starting in his new role from Monday 11 February 2013, Bob will be responsible for leading the recruitment process to fill the structure of SPI’s importing company in the US and will be based in New York.

The appointment follows the decision by SPI Group to establish SPI North America to manage its portfolio of brands directly, throughout the US, starting from 1 January 2014.

Bob has several years’ experience working in the drinks industry and brings valuable insight and understanding to the new company as it develops its core team. Having led multiple HR teams throughout his career spanning 25 years, Bob will work closely with SPI North America President, John Esposito. Prior to working with SPI Group, Bob held senior positions, most recently with Bacardi – Martini, Inc, Polo Ralph Lauren and Schieffelin & Somerset (later known as Moet Hennessy USA).

John Esposito, President, SPI North America comments, “I am very happy to have a seasoned professional like Bob to join me at Stoli USA. His vast industry experience and understanding of what excellence looks like, will enable us to recruit the very best team to this exciting venture”.

Bob states, “I’m excited to have this unique opportunity to join such an iconic brand as Stoli, as we build a winning organisation with exceptional talent in order to drive Stoli's growth in the North American market".