A Belgian national, Tresarrieu brings over two decades of global leadership experience. As global senior vice president of investor relations, treasury and cash performance at Pernod Ricard S.A., she has been pivotal in shaping the company’s financial strategy and elevating shareholder engagement, while developing deep expertise in the spirits industry and the Pernod Ricard Group.

Before joining Pernod Ricard in 2019, Tresarrieu spent 18 years at top-tier investment banks JP Morgan and Barclays, where she advised major corporations on strategic and financial matters as managing director, as well as successfully building new businesses. Her international career has spanned key markets including the U.K., Asia and France. Her combination of strategic insight, operational leadership and stakeholder fluency positions her well to lead Corby. Krantz will assist Tresarrieu with her transition into her new role in the months ahead.

“We’re excited to welcome [Tresarrieu] to Corby as our new chief executive officer. With significant global financial and leadership experience, she will guide Corby into its next chapter, build on our strong foundation and drive continued momentum, growth, and innovation,” said Lucio Di Clemente, chairman of Corby’s board of directors.

During his five-year tenure, Krantz successfully guided Corby through the challenges of the pandemic, strengthened the company’s portfolio strategy and accelerated growth in the fast-expanding ready-to-drink segment through strategic acquisitions. Under his leadership, Corby enhanced its brand portfolio, gained market share and fostered a more agile, collaborative and consumer-centric organization.

Corby’s board of directors also announced that, effective Jan. 1, 2026, Tresarrieu has been appointed as a Corby director and that Claude Boulay will resign from his role as a Corby director effective Dec. 31, 2025, but will continue as a Pernod Ricard consultant, with Krantz remaining on the board as a non-executive director following Boulay’s departure.

Spirits Canada’s corporate sponsorship of 86 Harassment signals to industry professionals and customers alike that sexual violence and harassment have no place in the beverage alcohol and hospitality industries.

86 Harassment is one of the first industry-wide initiatives specifically designed for the beverage alcohol and hospitality industries to co-create an action plan aimed at reducing incidents of harassment and violence. A key initiative of Women of the Vine & Spirits, 86 Harassment aims to create a model that can be duplicated by other industries worldwide emphasizing a collective commitment to fostering safer environments for employers, employees and customers.

“We can’t thank Spirits Canada enough for their support of 86 Harassment. This commitment signals to the industry at-large that sexual violence and harassment have no place in beverage alcohol and hospitality,” said Deborah Brenner, founder and CEO of Women of the Vine & Spirits and 86 Harassment council member.

Representing Spirits Canada on the 86 Harassment Council is Catherine Eaton, vice president, finance and operations at Spirits Canada.

We can’t thank Spirits Canada enough for their support of 86 Harassment. This commitment signals to the industry at-large that sexual violence and harassment have no place in beverage alcohol and hospitality.

Deborah Brenner, Women of the Vine & Spirits

“There is no place for sexual harassment and gender-based violence in our industry or society at large, and Spirits Canada’s support for this initiative reflects our deep commitment to fostering a safe, inclusive and equitable environment, where every individual is treated with dignity and respect,” said Eaton. “It is an honour to serve on this council and to contribute to meaningful change, ensuring that every person can be proud to work in this sector.”

Spirits Canada joins fellow sponsors Brown-Forman, Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, Pernod Ricard North America, Republic National Distributing Company, and Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America.

Thanks to the generous financial funding of 86 Harassment sponsors, 86 Harassment will support employers and employees with the following free resources:

• Customized training for the beverage alcohol and hospitality industries on setting boundaries and bystander intervention, including “Creating A Safer Community,” developed and conducted by RAINN, and “Active Bystander Intervention” and “De-Escalation Training” for hospitality staff developed and conducted by Safe Bars. Additional trainings to be announced.
• Industry-specific Dedicated Confidential Crisis Intervention Hotline operated by staff at RAINN. Telephone Crisis Intervention Services available in English and Spanish. The hotline staff are available 24/7 to support communities with industry-specific crisis intervention, empathetic listening and warm handoffs to designated local service providers. The hotline provides quality, anonymous and confidential crisis intervention services in English and Spanish to support survivors within the industry.
• Centralized Resource Hub including glossary key terms and phrases, articles, reports, newsletters and educational resources for anyone in the beverage alcohol and hospitality industries. Handouts, toolkits, postcards, flyers, stickers, posters, available to download, print and post on walls on-premise, off-premise, offices and use at conferences and events.

Born in Massachusetts in 1816, the distillery’s namesake Hiram Walker moved to Michigan, working as a grocer and eventually starting a general store. He had the mindset of an entrepreneur, running moonshine through charcoal and selling it for five cents per gallon. Walker had a growing interest in distilling, but with prohibition taking hold in the U.S., he looked north and purchased a plot of land across the Detroit River, in the area now known as Windsor, Ont. He purchased the land in 1856, and it began operating as a distillery in 1858.

At the time, Windsor was sparsely populated. As such, Walker built housing for those working at his distillery. Although he was operating out of Windsor, Walker commuted every day from the U.S. to the distillery. He remained an American citizen for his entire life. Deeply entrenched in the history of Windsor, Walker’s son became the first mayor of Walkerville, a historically significant area in Windsor, noted to have been a planned city built by Walker. “Canada was built on whisky,” said Livermore.

When he does whisky tastings, Livermore asks, “What do you believe grew Canadian whisky more than anything else?” He says people instinctively say, “Prohibition.”

Quite frankly, it did not,” said Livermore. “Prohibition would have been like COVID-19 was for our bars and restaurants. You lost your customer and that’s not a good scenario to be in.”

I can confirm today that we are making more spirits now than we ever have in our history of the company.

Don Livermore, PhD, Hiram Walker & Sons

Livermore says the most important years in Canadian whisky history fall within the range of 1861 to 1865, just after the distillery was started. The U.S. Civil War was one of the biggest events for Canadian whisky. Although beer was available, whisky kept longer, and the U.S. purchased Canadian whisky in massive quantities. “Whisky is what they drank,” said Livermore.

During this time, many of the fathers of Canadian whisky emerged – Hiram Walker, J.P. Wiser and Henry Corby, to name a few – all of whom took advantage of the disruptions to the south. The growth led the Canadian government to require documentation for whisky production processes and quantities in the 1860s, as prior to this there was very little documentation and most of the process was communicated verbally. Through this documentation, it’s become apparent that early on, Walker did not know the science behind making whisky. Rather, Livermore says Walker would “repeat things over and over by the phase of the moon.”

The earliest records of the distillery are from the 1860s. “There are some cool stories,” Livermore said. “Even the local church was named after his wife, Mary, so that’s how much influence he had.” Not too long ago, a statue of Walker was installed on the corner of the distillery to honour his legacy.

The Walker family owned the distillery into their third generation, through to Walker’s grandchildren from 1910 until around 1926. Once prohibition began to put a strain on distilleries in Canada, Harry Hatch entered the picture.

“Good things were not happening during prohibition,” Livermore said. “There were some people that took advantage of that situation. One was Harry Hatch. Harry Hatch was a salesman out of the Corby [Spirit and Wine] distillery at that time who also owned a bar in Oshawa, Ont.”

Livermore says Hatch maintained good relationships with his patrons and often had them performing favours, running cases of liquor across Lake Ontario. Hatch had over 450 fishermen working for him at one point, known colloquially as Hatch’s Navy. Hatch attempted to buy the Corby distillery, but was denied, which led him to quit and purchase Hiram Walker & Sons in 1926.

Canada was built on whisky.

Don Livermore, PhD, Hiram Walker & Sons

Jumping to the late-20th century, Allied Domecq purchased the distillery in 1989, and in 2005 Pernod Ricard and Jim Beam bought the shares of Allied Domecq and split up the brands. Pernod Ricard now owns Hiram Walker & Sons. “It’s a reputable company that has stood the test of time,” Livermore said. “I can confirm today that we are making more spirits now than we ever have in our history of the company.” He also says it’s rewarding to see the popularity of Canadian whisky continue to grow.

Currently, the distillery has 450 employees. The equipment they use is standard column, pot and rectification stills. Most grains come from a 100-kilometre radius of the distillery, and the corn comes from southern Ontario. As they make rum on site, they also bring in molasses. Bottling occurs on site, but there are 16 storage facilities within about 32 kilometres of the distillery for aging. To give more terroir to the final product these sites are not temperature controlled, and they have American and European barrels for aging. Many types of popular spirits come out of the Hiram Walker & Sons distillery, including J.P. Wiser’s, Pike Creek, Lamb’s Rum, Polar Ice Vodka and McGuinness liqueurs.

The quickest production product is vodka, taking only five days. In contrast, they have whisky that’s currently aging to 42 years. “I always aim to have my inventory left better than I find it,” Livermore said.

Most of the distribution is in Canada, although there has been growth in the U.S. The J.P. Wiser’s 10-year Canadian whisky first launched in Sweden, since it’s a market that drinks less alcohol, but seeks higher quality products.

Hiram Walker & Sons constantly seeks to improve sustainability. The team regularly looks for energy savings and installs more efficient equipment. They have increased production yields to decrease energy consumption. Additionally, they have local partners who take wet format grain, instead of using energy to dry it onsite.

With so many large brands operating out of Hiram Walker & Sons, it is no surprise that Livermore’s distilling is well-awarded too. Named the first-ever Canadian Whisky Blender of the Year in 2019, and again in 2020, the product quality and consistency show. When asked what he enjoys most about making new spirits, Livermore said, “When I’m doing tradeshows or masterclasses in another country. I also enjoy changing the mindset of an unexpected whisky connoisseur.” What could possibly be next for a distillery with such deep historical roots? Well, Livermore sees Canadian whisky as an area with space for creativity and innovation; one that is adaptable to future whisky drinkers, too.

Tours of the distillery, along with the tasting operations, are available to the public. Interested clientele can visit jpwiserstour.ca to learn more.

Continuing to release products like Lot 40, a 100 per cent rye whisky that is new to market and a limited-edition J.P. Wiser’s Wood Series, Hiram Walker & Sons will not only have an influence on Canadian whisky’s history, but also its future.