TOKYO – (TNS) There’s been a shake up in the top ranks of one of Kentucky’s biggest bourbon companies.
The CEO of Suntory, which owns Jim Beam and Maker’s Mark, resigned Sept. 2 after Japanese police searched his Tokyo home for illegal cannabis supplements.
Suntory Holdings CEO Takeshi Niinami, who is one of Japan’s best-known business leaders, said he believes he is innocent but resigned for the good of the company, according to published reports. He told the Asahi newspaper he believes the supplement he purchased was legal. As of Sept. 3, Niinami has not been charged with a crime.
Suntory president Nobuhiro Torii will take over the company.
It’s unclear what this change at the top will mean for Suntory Global Spirits, formerly known as Beam Suntory, which is helmed by president and