Pernod Ricard chairman Patrick Ricard dies after 45 years at firm
PATRICK RICARD, the chairman of drinks company Pernod Ricard, has died aged 67 after spending his entire career at the drinks firm.
The company yesterday announced that Ricard, the son of the firm’s founder Paul Ricard, had passed away on Friday. He joined the company in 1967 and had served as chairman since 1978. He was also chief executive of the firm from 1978 to 2008.
“The staff of SA Paul Ricard as well as the employees of Pernod Ricard group share the grief of the family,” the company said in a statement.
Ricard took control of the firm shortly after his father’s firm – established in 1932 – merged with Pernod in 1975.
He oversaw more than three decades of aggressive international expansion that transformed Pernod Ricard from a company that sold its signature anise-flavoured liquors mostly in France to a global drinks giant that includes Absolut Vodka and Jameson Irish Whiskey.
Pernod Ricard is now the second biggest drinks company in the world.