Zamora Company, owner of Licor 43, Ramón Bilbao, and Martin Miller’s Gin, among other premium wine and spirits brands, has strengthened its leadership structure by appointing  Mike Howard and André Duarte as heads of the North American and Latin American clusters, respectively. These appointments reflect the company's commitment to strengthening its regional management capabilities and accelerating the execution of its growth strategy in two priority regions for its international expansion. In the 2025 financial year, the international market accounted for 54.4% of Zamora Company's business.

Based in Dallas, Texas, Mike Howard takes on the leadership of the North American Cluster, comprising the United States and Canada. Meanwhile, operating from São Paulo, Brazil, André Duarte will lead the Latin American Cluster, which includes South America, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Both executives bring extensive experience in the beverage and spirits industry, along with a deep understanding of the markets, distribution channels, and commercial dynamics characteristic of their respective regions. Their appointments strengthen Zamora Company's international management model by bringing decision-making and commercial execution closer to local markets and consumers, while simultaneously advancing a shared vision for portfolio and brand development on a global scale.

¨Our international scale requires combining global vision with local execution. The addition of André and Mike brings two leaders with deep industry expertise to accelerate our growth within our 'One Agile Global Company' model, a formula that is delivering excellent results," states Javier Pijoan, CEO of Zamora Company 

Strategy and Management Excellence in North America

Mike Howard brings over 25 years of experience in commercial leadership, brand development, and operational management within the industry. With a career built primarily in the North American market, he has held top executive positions at both brand-owning and distribution companies.

Prior to joining Zamora Company, Howard served as President North America for Stoli Group USA. Previously, he was Chief Commercial Officer at Altos Planos, where he spearheaded the commercial development of Mijenta, a tequila brand that increased its sales by over 400% in three years.

His background also includes founding and leading Southwest Spirits & Wine, a company that grew from $3.5 million to $30 million in revenue under his leadership. Additionally, he has held key roles at Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, where he managed the P&L for a $600 million distribution business.

At Zamora Company, Howard will head the North American Cluster with the goal of driving our growth, optimizing our go-to-market strategy, and elevating commercial excellence across the entire portfolio.

Howard holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Stephen F. Austin State University and an Executive MBA from the Wharton School of Business.

Accelerating Growth in Latam

André Duarte, for his part, brings over 30 years of executive experience in the beverage and spirits industry, with a career focused on commercial strategy, business development, distribution, and marketing across Latin America and the Caribbean. He joins Zamora Company from Brown-Forman, one of the largest American wine and spirits companies, where he held senior management positions.

Throughout his career, Duarte has also held various leadership roles at the Scottish group William Grant & Sons, including heading the company's operations in Brazil, and has worked at companies such as AB InBev, the world's largest brewing group. His expertise spans markets such as Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, and other countries in the region, combining P&L management, commercial plan development, distributor relations, and brand building.

In his new role as Latin America Cluster Director, Duarte will lead the accelerated growth of the company's wine and spirits portfolio. His leadership will focus on consolidating and building upon the strong performance in Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia, scaling this successful model to the region's other key markets, and optimizing the commercial strategy to ensure sustainable growth across Latin America.

Duarte holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo (PUC-SP) and a postgraduate degree in Business Administration from FGV - CEAG SP.