Global spirits and wines producer Bacardi has announced that the president and CEO of Patrón Spirits International and The Patrón Spirits Company Ed Brown will retire on 31 December this year.

Ed Brown was associated with the Patrón brand for nearly two decades. During his tenure, the brand is said to have registered a significant growth from 118,000 cases in 2001 to more than two million cases in 2018.

Bacardi’s vice-chairman and Patrón board of director’s member Barry Kabalkin said: “It is only fitting that we should describe the career of the man who created the enduring tagline ‘Simply Perfect’ as nothing short of that.

“I would like to offer Ed our heartfelt thanks for building one of the best brands in the spirits world and beyond.”

“On behalf of Bacardi and our newest colleagues from Patrón, I would like to offer Ed our heartfelt thanks for building one of the best brands in the spirits world and beyond. We wish Ed all the best on his well-deserved retirement.”

Bacardi acquired Patrón Spirits International and its premium tequila brand Patrón in April this year.

The transaction was first announced in January this year when Bacardi agreed to acquire all of Patrón Spirits for $5.1bn.

Bacardi’s CEO Mahesh Madhavan said: “Ed has been a generous partner as we’ve worked hard to integrate our companies without missing a beat.

“We continue to be impressed with what he and his outstanding team have accomplished, and we are more excited than ever at the opportunity to build upon their success to grow PATRÓN, which so perfectly complements our portfolio of premium brands at Bacardi.”