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Kim Manley caused one of last year's biggest stirs in the global

alcoholic drinks industry when he defected from Diageo's Guinness UDV to

arch rival Allied Domecq.

Though Manley, who was global brand director for Smirnoff before

crossing the divide to become Allied's chief marketing officer, insists

there were no hard feelings, the industry grapevine suggests otherwise.

One source says Manley was spoken of "in spitting terms" by Diageo

management after he left.

It would be surprising if Diageo had waved him off with a fond handshake

and best wishes. In his three years with Smirnoff, Manley introduced

several new flavours to the US market and was behind the successful

launch of Smirnoff Ice. Before that, he spent four years as Australasian

marketing director for United Distillers, the predecessor to UDV. As

another source says: "They're worried about what he knows - wouldn't you

be?"

Others suggest Manley's direct operating style didn't make him popular

with everybody at UDV. Says one: "He was a rougher grade of sandpaper

than a lot of them and he trampled over a lot of people."

So why did he defect? Manley, who spent his teens and much of his career

in Australia and still calls Sydney home, says it was nothing more

sinister than that he was an ex-pat and his three-year contract with

Diageo had run out. He adds: "It was always my intention at the end of

that three years to do something else."

It was the latest move in a colourful marketing and management career

that has so far encompassed Yamaha music, Australian designer fashion

brand Jag and Sara Lee lingerie. It's a career that has taken him all

over the world and, because less than 6% of Allied's drinks business is

in the UK, continues to do so. Although his job is based in London, he

has spent fewer than 45 days in the UK so far this year. With a small

child and another due next month, this situation won't be ideal forever

and Manley admits he will return to Sydney eventually. But there are

plenty of opportunities.

"Everyone gave me stick when we were buying Montana Wines because they

reckoned I wanted something I could go and run back home," he says.

"Well, if Philip (Bowman, chief executive) and I do what it is we talked

about in terms of shaping this business, I see no reason why I would

have to go and work for anybody else."

John Dixey, Sara Lee Intimate Apparel general manager for North Europe,

worked with Manley when he was group marketing director at the firm in

Australia and describes him as a "genuinely excellent creative

marketer".

He adds: "He repositioned all our brands for us in a much more exciting,

modern way and he wasn't afraid to be really different with his

advertising. He was always non-conformist and liked to stamp his own

mark on things."

Manley certainly hasn't wasted any time doing exactly that at Allied

Domecq. Since joining a little over a year ago, he has overhauled the

marketing department, jettisoning a number of senior marketers and

hiring new talent. He has also just completed a major review of Allied's

advertising roster and consolidated all advertising into three creative

networks (Marketing, November 1).

Another initiative is a huge consumer segmentation study involving

40,000 interviews across ten key markets, analysing why consumers choose

particular drinks for specific occasions. The alignment of drinks with

occasions will be core to Allied's future marketing strategy.

Manley's influence has been key to a wholesale change in the culture of

the £1.9bn wines and spirits empire. Under his leadership, the

business has been transformed from mainly production-driven to clearly

marketing-driven, with progress benchmarked against several different

industries, not just drinks.

However, Manley strenuously denies that he has simply implemented

Diageo-style marketing at Allied. "It would be foolish to do that," he

says.

"We are very different companies. We have a different brand portfolio

and brand proposition."

By all accounts, Manley's quiet manner and relaxed Aussie drawl belie a

tough businessman who doesn't suffer fools gladly. Harry McAulsden,

deputy group chairman at J Walter Thompson, which handles the Smirnoff

account, describes Manley as "strong meat, by anyone's estimation".

McAulsden adds: "He was incredibly decisive and supportive. When people

were dithering, he was always the one to say yes. He is very outspoken

and couldn't have cared less about politics or sensitivities in what

was, let's face it, a pretty political job. He just went storming

through with it."

Dixey agrees: "He was great fun. I always loved going out with him - he

was always so positive and inspirational. There is an old Smirnoff ad in

which a guy goes into a boardroom with a bowling ball, the board members

all turn into skittles and he knocks them down. It always reminds me of

him." The ad, unsurprisingly, is one of Manley's.

BIOGRAPHY

1986-1990: National marketing manager, Yamaha Corporation

1990-1993: General manager, Palmer Corporation

1993-1995: General manager, sales and marketing, Sara Lee Intimate

Apparel

1995-1998: Marketing director, Australasia, UDV

1998-2000: President, Smirnoff Company, Diageo (UDV)

2000-present: Chief marketing officer, Allied Domecq Spirits & Wines