Management Change at Drew Estate
Drew Estate, one of the largest makers of cigars in Nicaragua and the company behind Liga Privada, Herrera Esteli and many other cigars, has a new head of day-to-day operations.
On Saturday—as most of the premium cigar industry was en route to the world's most important cigar industry trade show, the IPCPR—the company announced that Glenn Wolfson had been hired as the company's chief executive officer, replacing president Michael Cellucci, who has left the company.
Drew Estate did not give a reason for Cellucci's departure, and Cellucci did not respond to a request for comment by the time this story was printed.
This is the second big change at the top for Drew Estate in three years. In July 2013 (again, only days before the big industry trade show) the company announced the retirement of Steve Saka, who then held the title of CEO of Drew Estate. Cellucci stepped into his role while retaining the president's title. Cellucci had been at Drew Estate for 16 years.
Wolfson is the first CEO at Drew Estate since Saka, who left Drew Estate on July 12, 2013.
Drew Estate is headquartered in Miami, makes its cigars in Estelí, Nicaragua, and is a unit of Swisher International Inc. of Darien, Connecticut. Swisher makes cigars by machine, chief among them Swisher Sweets.
Drew Estate, which—like many companies—is in the midst of releasing many new cigars at this tradeshow—also announced the return of senior vice president of sales Glenn Cutler "for transitional support."
Company founders Jonathan Drew and Marvin Samel expressed "sincere thanks" for Cellucci's contributions as they welcomed Wolfson and Cutler.
Swisher CEO Peter Ghiloni spoke highly of Wolfson in a release, calling him "a trusted advisor." A graduate of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, he has worked with major companies including Walt Disney World, and Polo Ralph Lauren, and recently retired from the nutrition/pharmaceuticals industry. He lives in Chicago, and will relocate later this year to the Miami area.
In the release, Jonathan Drew of Drew Estate said: "I am excited about the new addition of Glenn Wolfson to the Drew Estate family. He has significant and decorated real world experience that we will tap into as we amplify our company message during this new chapter of Drew. Glenn will add value to our company as we face new challenges, and more importantly, as we grow to reach our dreams and our employees dreams."
He called Cutler "a rare breed," an executive vice president "who never forgot what it means to be a soldier."
