CHICAGO — Former Molson Coors CCO Pete Marino, who has been leading the brewer’s portfolio of emerging products, will be leaving the beverage giant amid the latest round of corporate restructuring.

“It’s time for someone else to lead that integration and take these emerging growth brands to the next level,” Marino, who has been president of emerging growth since 2019, wrote on LinkedIn. “The memories, experiences and relationships I have made are vast and meaningful. From co-workers to so many of our awesome wholesalers, the list of people I will miss working with is too long to mention here. But I do want to give a special thanks to my EG leadership team who have been heads down working to jump over or run through every obstacle we faced."

Marino’s exit comes in conjunction with the creation of a new centralized commercial function for the brewer’s Americas business, which will be led by CMO Michelle St. Jacques as chief commercial officer. The full range of commercial operations in the US, Canada and Latin America, including sales, marketing, innovation, and digital strategy, as well as the company’s non-alcohol and liquor portfolios, will be included in the new function’s remit.

In his post, Marino, who spent four years leading Molson Coors' comms and public affairs, wrote, “I fully support the decision to create this new chief commercial officer role to take the great start that we have in emerging growth to the next level. Now is a good time for me to step out. I will be working for a few more weeks to help get Michelle up to speed before moving on. There’s another adventure coming. More on that later, but until then I have a few things left to do to complete my Molson Coors career.”

Marino’s leadership at Molson Coors as well as on the agency side of the business has earned him honors including a 2019 Individual Achievement SABRE Award. He has also featured on PRovoke Media's Influence 100 list of Crossover Stars, which recognizes communications professionals that have moved into broader business roles.

Marino built Dig Communications into one of the most creative midsize firms in the US before selling it to Minneapolis-based ad agency Olson in 2012. After leaving Olson to join client Molson Coors as its VP of communications, he was promoted to chief communications and government affairs officer, launched the acclaimed MCTV platform; supporting CSR and sustainability initiatives; and serving on the company strategy and operating committees.