New Head of Global Marketing & Product Development at the Oettinger Davidoff Group

BASEL, Switzerland, Nov. 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Charles Awad has been appointed Senior Vice President of Global Marketing & Product Development, Cigars and Accessories within the Oettinger Davidoff Group, effective November 21, 2011. He currently is with the Estee Lauder Companies as Global Vice President International for the company's Beauty Bank Division in New York, where he is responsible for the development and design of new brands and business models. Before, the 46-year-old spent 17 years with Procter & Gamble in Geneva and London where he held important management functions in international marketing in Personal Beauty Care, Prestige Skin Care, Cosmetics and Designer Fragrances as well as Food and Beverages. Charles Awad, a Swiss citizen, was born in Lebanon and grew up in Paris and New York. He holds an MBA from the French business school INSEAD as well as a Masters Degree in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University, Indiana (USA).

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Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard, CEO and President of Oettinger Davidoff Group, says: "Charles Awad is a passionate marketing specialist with a strong entrepreneurial drive. The combination of his deep and rigorous training at Procter & Gamble and his lifestyle/luxury brand experience at Estee Lauder makes him ideally suited to tackle the tough challenges placed on him in this newly created position. His hands-on experience and success in innovation, product development, visual merchandising, in-store activities and customer relationship management will be critical to our future success."

Charles Awad adds: "I am excited to join the Oettinger Davidoff Group at this particular time. Davidoff is an incredible brand and I look forward to help take it to the next level globally. The other brands in the group represent significant potential and I am delighted to get the opportunity to lead the globalisation of such an impressive brand portfolio."

The CHF 1.3 billion Oettinger Davidoff Group with almost 4,000 employees around the world, traces its roots back to 1875 and remains family owned to this day with two distinctly different businesses: one that is focused on FMCG distribution in the Swiss market and one dedicated to the core business of producing, marketing and retailing premium branded cigars, tobacco products and accessories. The premium branded cigar business include Davidoff, AVO, Camacho, Cusano, Griffin's, Private Stock, Zino, Zino Platinum and Winston Churchill Cigars. The Oettinger Davidoff Group is anchored in a strong "crop-to-shop" philosophy, having pursued a vertical integration from its tobacco fields in the Dominican Republic and Honduras to its world wide network of 65 Davidoff Flagship Stores.

SOURCE Oettinger Davidoff Group