Bacardi

Bacardi & Company Limited, headquartered in Bermuda and with an office in Miami, Florida, U.S., is one of the world's largest alcohol companies, selling in almost 100 countries worldwide. It makes more than a dozen varieties of its Bacardi rum. Other brands include Bombay Sapphire gin, Martini & Rossi vermouth, Dewar's Scotch whisky, DiSaronno Amaretto, and B&B and Benedictine liqueurs. The company is owned by the descendants of founder Facundo Bacardi y Masso.

Political contributions
Bacardi USA gave $14,990 to federal candidates in the 2006 U.S. election through its political action committee - 23% to Democrats, 63% to Republicans, and the rest to independent Joseph Lieberman (I-CT).

The Bacardi company has been a large contributor to Republican Tom Delay who was indicted by a grand jury on charges that included raising illegal corporate contributions and who has subsequently resigned from the House of Representives. Bacardi also was indicted, along with seven other companies.

Bacardi donated $20,000 to ARMPAC (Americans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee), $20,000 to Texans for a Republican Majority PAC, and $3,000 to Mr. DeLay's legal defense fund. Previously, Delay took strong positions favoring Bacardi by seeking an amendment to a Department of Defense reauthorization bill that would give Bacard rights the the Havana Club rum label which is currently owned by the Cuban government and which happens to be a top-selling rum in Europe.

Lobbying
Bacardi USA spent $280,000 for lobbying in the U.S. in the first half of 2007. Half the money went to three lobbying firms with the remainder being spent using in-house lobbyists. One of the lobbying firms used was King & Spalding.

Personnel
Key executives (company is private so pay is not disclosed):
 * Stella David, Chief Marketing Officer
 * John P. Esposito, Chief Executive Officer Barcardi U.S.A.
 * Andreas Gembler, Chief Executive Officer
 * Graham C. Hetherington, Chief Financial Officer

Selected members of the Board of Directors:
 * Facundo L. Bacardi, Chairman of the Board
 * Victor R. Arellano, Jr.
 * Ignacio De La Rocha

Former:
 * Manuel J. Cutillas retired chief executive of Bacardi, Ltd.

Contact details
Bermuda headquarters: 65 Pitts Bay Road Pembroke, HM 08, Bermuda Phone: 441-295-4345 Fax: 441-292-0562 Web: http://www.bacardilimited.com

Bacardi U.S.A.: 2100 Biscayne Boulevard Miami, FL 33137 Phone: 305-573-8511 Fax: 305-573-7507 Web: http://www.bacardi.com

Related Sourcewatch articles

 * Guillermo J. Fernandez-Quincoces - former board member