The 33-year old executive will start on April 1, 2012, and replaces Grant McKenzie in this position, who will be running the marketing team of the SAB Miller group in the Czech Republic. SAB Miller is the owner of Ursus Breweries.
Mihai Barsan is the man who turned Timisoreana into the best-selling beer brand on the local market. He joined Ursus Breweries in March 2005. He became marketing manager of SAB Miller Europe four years later, and thus the Romanian executive with the highest position in the group at the time. In October 2009 he became head of the marketing department in Slovakia.
Another management change at Ursus is the appointment of Krzystof Andrzejewski to vice-president of sales and distribution, after having served as an interim VP on this position since September 2011. He will continue to serve as interim chief financial officer until a suitable candidate is found. Andrzejewski started at Ursus Breweries in March 2010.
Ursus Breweries posted EUR279.6 million revenue and EUR20.9 million losses in 2010 and had 1,644 employees according to Finance Ministry data. Its brand portfolio includes Timisoreana, Ursus, Ciucas, Peroni, and Pilsner Urquell.
(English version by Loredana Frățilă-Cristescu)