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After 7 yrs at the helm, Bill Newlands, 66 yrs old, will step down from his role as president and ceo of Constellation Brands on Apr 13, 2026. He'll be succeeded by Nicholas Fink, 51, who's served on STZ's board for the last 5 yrs, and has been the ceo of publicly traded Fortune Brands Innovations since 2020. Bill and Nick both worked at spirits supplier Beam, overlapping for a number of yrs. Over several yrs, Constellation's board "has engaged in a thoughtful and comprehensive CEO succession planning process," said board chair Chris Baldwin in announcement. They found their man on their board of directors. Bill will also retire from the board on Apr 13 but will "continue to serve as a strategic advisor over the next several months to help ensure a smooth transition of leadership responsibilities." Fortune Brands is a "leading global home, security and digital products company" with $4.5 bil in 2025 revs, oper income of ~$700 mil (before charges) and mkt cap of $6 bil. Co reported its 4th qtr and full yr results yesterday, same day Nick named STZ ceo. Fortune revs and earnings down in 2025. It missed analysts' estimates and reduced guidance for 2026. Stock is getting hammered today. Down 16% at presstime. STZ stock also down 4%.As ceo, Bill successfully steered STZ thru numerous challenging circumstances and past mistakes, while until last yr its beer biz grew dramatically. He unwound disastrous Ballast Point and Canopy deals, sold off most of its wine and spirits biz, reached a deal for Sands family to give up voting control, worked with activist investor Elliott Mgt to improve various aspects of corporate governance (without Elliott going hostile). Thru all the changes and challenges and beer co growth, stock rose to a high over $270/share in 2024. But it's down over 40% since then and currently sits below where it was when Bill became ceo in 2019.Nick "brings a track record of successfully leading a public, multi-category business, beverage alcohol industry experience, and visionary leadership with a proven ability for building new growth platforms and strong premium lifestyle brands" wrote Constellation. He's also a deals guy. In his decade-plus at Fortune, including as ceo since Jan 2020, "he is responsible for 12 major acquisitions," wrote Cowen's Robert Moskow. Even with acquisitions, revs and earnings are below where they were in 2021. With today's drop, stock down slightly in Nick's tenure.Yet Fortune Brands chairwoman Susan Kilsby began yesterday's conference call by saying Nick "has been an outstanding leader of this company since he became CEO in 2020," even as he announced his departure.Nick's new job as STZ ceo comes with a high profile and plenty of rewards, including a hefty pay package of $1.4 mil in "initial annual base salary level," plus bonus and long-term stock incentive plan, with "an aggregate fair date value of" $11 mil, according to co's SEC filing. At board level, Nick is reportedly very engaging and another source who knows him described him as a "very good guy." Yet some in financial community have questioned his track record at Fortune. No big changes expected short-term at STZ with JPMorgan's Drew Levine noting he's "not expecting material shift in strategy." Drew sez: "Net-net, we believe the transition was deliberately planned by the Board, considering both internal and external candidates, to ensure strategic continuity and smooth transition" to a guy whom Board noted has a "deep understanding of Constellation's business model" and "will bring a unique perspective and capabilities."

Bill Newlands Will Step Down as STZ CEO; Nick Fink Will Step Up from CEO of Fortune Brands; Both Stocks Drop; Nick's Time at Fortune

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