The appointment is part of a ‘new look’ country leadership team and underlines the world’s third largest brewer’s continued commitment to its customers, it says.

In his new role, Whitehead will be responsible for leading the delivery of Molson Coors’ ‘first choice for consumers and customers’ ethos.

Whitehead has been with Molson Coors for 11 years, most recently as chief supply chain officer in Europe.

Commenting on his appointment Phil Whitehead said: “We have established an ambitious, customer-focused team here in the UK & Ireland that is leading the way in transforming the industry. The political and legislative landscape has changed significantly since the start of the year, yet our business continues to thrive. We have the best portfolio we’ve ever had and I look forward to working with our reinvigorated team and our loyal customers to grow our business further in 2017 and beyond.”

Whitehead takes on the managing director role from Frederic Landtmeters, who moves to Canada as chief executive officer at Molson Coors, Canada.

Other announcements from the Molson Coors UK and Ireland business include the appointment of Martyn Cozens to the newly created position of on-trade sales director. Alpesh Mistry, former customer marketing director, is appointed to the role of off-trade sales director, UK. He replaces Nigel Tordoff, who joins Molson Coors’ global headquarters in Denver as head of customer excellence.