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Brown-Forman Announces Executive Leadership Change

BF.A | June 12, 2024

Diane Nguyen Named Chief People, Places, and Communications Officer; Kirsten Hawley to Retire

Brown-Forman Corporation (NYSE:BFA,BFB) announced today that Diane Nguyen has been named chief people, places, and communications officer and a member of the company’s executive leadership team (ELT), effective August 1. Kirsten Hawley, who currently holds this position, announced her intent to retire in May, effective August 9.

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Kirsten Hawley (Photo: Business Wire)

"I am delighted to welcome Diane to the role of chief people, places, and communications officer and to our executive leadership team," said Lawson Whiting, president and chief executive officer, Brown-Forman. "Her human resources experience, strategic talent management expertise, dedication to our culture, and cross-cultural business acumen make her an exceptionally well-suited leader for this role."

As chief people, places, and communications officer, Diane Nguyen will create and execute strategies to build the culture, people, processes, and structures needed to achieve Brown-Forman’s strategic ambitions. She will also manage corporate communications and workplace strategy, ensuring they reflect and reinforce the company's values and business objectives.

Nguyen, who currently serves as senior vice president, human resources director, global commercial and corporate teams, has been with Brown-Forman for 16 years and has influenced the employee experience in every facet of the business. Her deep human resources and organizational development expertise has benefited the many areas she has served, including Global Production, Global Marketing, and the commercial divisions of the USA & Canada, Europe, and Emerging International.

Before joining Brown-Forman, Nguyen worked at Colgate-Palmolive and Homecare & Hospital Management. Nguyen received her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Eastern Kentucky University and her master’s degree in business administration from University of Louisville.

Kirsten Hawley, executive vice president, chief people, places, and communications officer, has served in a variety of roles across human resources, marketing, and communications throughout her almost three decades of service to Brown-Forman, beginning in 1997.

During her tenure in human resources, Hawley led organizational and leadership development and served as a human resources generalist. She spent seven years in the marketing organization as brand manager for a global liqueur brand. In 2013, Hawley joined the ELT and was named chief human resources officer in 2015 with her role expanding in 2019 to include responsibility for global corporate communications. Hawley recently assumed responsibility for Brown-Forman’s global real estate portfolio and best practices in workspace solutions.

"Kirsten has been a trusted advisor who has helped evolve Brown-Forman’s organization to thrive for the next generation. She has been instrumental in championing our values and culture, developing leaders and teams, and introducing policies and programs that have positively impacted organizational performance," said Whiting. "Among her greatest legacies are creating and implementing a people strategy that helped guide our organization through on-going global expansion, stewarding our culture during a global pandemic and its aftermath, and further strengthening our corporate brand. We wish her all the best in her well-deserved retirement."

Before joining Brown-Forman, Hawley worked as a research assistant for the Max Planck Institute in Berlin, Germany, and as an outplacement counselor for the Department of the Army. Hawley has a Bachelor of Arts in political science and communications from James Madison University and a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Boston University.

About Brown-Forman

For more than 150 years, Brown-Forman Corporation has enriched the experience of life by responsibly building fine quality beverage alcohol brands, including Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey, Jack Daniel's Ready-to-Drinks, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Honey, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Fire, Jack Daniel's Tennessee Apple, Gentleman Jack, Jack Daniel's Single Barrel, Woodford Reserve, Old Forester, Coopers’ Craft, The Glendronach, Benriach, Glenglassaugh, Slane, Herradura, el Jimador, New Mix, Korbel, Chambord, Fords Gin, Gin Mare, and Diplomático Rum. Brown-Forman’s brands are supported by approximately 5,700 employees globally and sold in more than 170 countries worldwide. For more information about the company, please visit brown-forman.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, and X, formerly Twitter.

Important Information on Forward-Looking Statements:

This press release contains statements, estimates, and projections that are “forward-looking statements” as defined under U.S. federal securities laws. Words such as “aim,” “ambition,” “anticipate,” “aspire,” “believe,” “can,” “continue,” “could,” “envision,” “estimate,” “expect,” “expectation,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “project,” “pursue,” “see,” “seek,” “should,” “will,” “would,” and similar words indicate forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date we make them. Except as required by law, we do not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors (many beyond our control) that could cause our actual results to differ materially from our historical experience or from our current expectations or projections. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to:

Our substantial dependence upon the continued health of the Jack Daniel’s family of brands
Route-to-consumer changes that affect the timing of our sales, temporarily disrupt the marketing or sale of our products, or result in higher fixed costs
Disruption of our distribution network or inventory fluctuations in our products by distributors, wholesalers, or retailers
Changes in consumer preferences, consumption, or purchase patterns – particularly away from larger producers in favor of small distilleries or local producers, or away from brown spirits, our premium products, or spirits generally, and our ability to anticipate or react to them; further legalization of marijuana; bar, restaurant, travel, or other on-premise declines; shifts in demographic or health and wellness trends; or unfavorable consumer reaction to new products, line extensions, package changes, product reformulations, or other product innovation
Substantial competition from new entrants, consolidations by competitors and retailers, and other competitive activities, such as pricing actions (including price reductions, promotions, discounting, couponing, or free goods), marketing, category expansion, product introductions, or entry or expansion in our geographic markets or distribution networks
Production facility, aging warehouse, or supply chain disruption
Imprecision in supply/demand forecasting
Higher costs, lower quality, or unavailability of energy, water, raw materials, product ingredients, or labor
Risks associated with acquisitions, dispositions, business partnerships, or investments – such as acquisition integration, termination difficulties or costs, or impairment in recorded value
Impact of health epidemics and pandemics, and the risk of the resulting negative economic impacts and related governmental actions
Unfavorable global or regional economic conditions and related economic slowdowns or recessions, low consumer confidence, high unemployment, weak credit or capital markets, budget deficits, burdensome government debt, austerity measures, higher interest rates, higher taxes, political instability, higher inflation, deflation, lower returns on pension assets, or lower discount rates for pension obligations
Product recalls or other product liability claims, product tampering, contamination, or quality issues
Negative publicity related to our industry, company, products, brands, marketing, executive leadership, employees, Board of Directors, family stockholders, operations, business performance, or prospects, including labor strikes and work stoppages
Failure to attract or retain key executive or employee talent
Risks associated with being a U.S.-based company with a global business, including commercial, political, and financial risks; local labor policies and conditions, including labor strikes and work stoppages; protectionist trade policies, or economic or trade sanctions, including additional retaliatory tariffs on American whiskeys and the effectiveness of our actions to mitigate the negative impact on our margins, sales, and distributors; compliance with local trade practices and other regulations; terrorism, kidnapping, extortion, or other types of violence; and health pandemics
Failure to comply with anti-corruption laws, trade sanctions and restrictions, or similar laws or regulations
Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, particularly a stronger U.S. dollar
Changes in laws, regulatory measures, or governmental policies, especially those affecting production, exportation, importation, marketing and promotion, labeling, pricing, distribution, sale, or consumption of our beverage alcohol products
Tax rate changes (including excise, corporate, sales or value-added taxes, property taxes, payroll taxes, import and export duties, and tariffs) or changes in related reserves, changes in tax rules or accounting standards, and the unpredictability and suddenness with which they can occur
Decline in the social acceptability of beverage alcohol in significant markets
Significant additional labeling or warning requirements or limitations on availability of our beverage alcohol products
Counterfeiting and inadequate protection of our intellectual property rights
Significant legal disputes and proceedings, or government investigations
Cyber breach or failure or corruption of our key information technology systems or those of our suppliers, customers, or direct and indirect business partners, or failure to comply with personal data protection laws
Our status as a family “controlled company” under New York Stock Exchange rules, and our dual-class share structure

For further information on these and other risks, please refer to our public filings, including the “Risk Factors” section of our Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.