By Timothy S. Donahue
Top Takeaways:
- Leadership shift: Drew Estate named Jonathan Drew Sann chief innovation officer.
- Brand expansion: The new Innovation Department will focus on new ventures, culture and brand engagement.
- Marketing hire: Former Sazerac Company executive Andrew Duncan joins as SVP of marketing.
Drew Estate is reshuffling the creative deck and returning its founder to where the company says he thrives best.
Drew Estate announced that company president Jonathan Drew Sann will transition to a newly created role as chief innovation officer, overseeing a dedicated Innovation Department to shape the company’s future growth and brand direction.
As part of the shift, Jonathan Drew Sann will step down from leading the company’s marketing division, and industry outsider Andrew Duncan will join as senior vice president of marketing. “We are asking Jonathan to engage his visionary roots and create multidimensional cultural and business adjacencies that will help shape the future of Drew Estate,” CEO Glenn Wolfson said. “This is a momentous occasion in Drew Estate’s history.”
The move comes amid a period of expansion and restructuring for the Swisher-owned premium cigar company. Drew Estate recently announced plans for a new factory in the Dominican Republic, a project the company says will reflect the type of work the Innovation Department will oversee moving forward.
The role will also focus heavily on brand building, engagement, and new business concepts, areas long associated with Sann’s unconventional approach to cigar marketing.
Earlier this year, the company unveiled a separate joint venture with Sann, called J. Sann & Son Manufacturer & Tobacconist, which includes plans for a boutique factory, retail concepts, and a cigar lounge in Miami’s Wynwood district.
“When I think about my work-life today, I’m focusing on the long-term legacy of Drew Estate,” Sann said. “I focus on the consumers and retailers of our beautiful craft… Finally, I’m thinking about my son, JD2.”
The company’s new marketing lead is coming from outside the tobacco space. Andrew Duncan previously worked at Sazerac Company, overseeing premium American whiskey brands such as Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, and George T. Stagg. Before that, he spent nearly five years at Procter & Gamble.
“The last 30 years in the cigar industry has taught me that Drew Estate is a very strange company,” Sann said. “Finding Andrew was like finding a needle in a haystack.”
In the premium cigar industry, the move highlights a growing focus on lifestyle branding, experiential retail, and cross-category marketing, particularly as companies compete for younger adult consumers and premium positioning.
