Philippe Neusch, Pernod Ricard's vice president of cognac, has left his role, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters and confirmed by a group spokesperson on Wednesday.
Neusch, who led cognac house Martell for fewer than two years as the industry grapples with weak demand and international trade tensions, will be replaced by Francois-Xavier Morizot, who already heads the group's champagne business.
Last week, a senior cognac industry official slammed US president Donald Trump's latest tariffs proposal for the European Union (EU), saying it would put the cognac industry in an untenable position.
On Friday, Trump recommended a 50 per cent tariff on European Union goods starting 1 June.
"The 50 percent tariffs proposed by President Trump would mean we will no longer be able to sell our products in the United States, which is our biggest market, representing more than 50 percent of cognac sales in terms of volumes", said the official.
However, Trump later backpedaled on his threat, agreeing to extend the deadline for talks between the US and the EU until 9 July.
The industry is also facing tariff threat from China, as Beijing began an anti-dumping investigation into European Union brandy in January. It was extended in April, giving EU exporters more time to find a way to avoid Chinese penalties.
Last week, French president Emmanuel Macron and China's president Xi Jinping agreed in a phone call to advance as quickly as possible towards ending the dispute over cognac tariffs.
In France, the Chinese anti-dumping probe is regarded as retaliation for Paris' support for EU tariffs on imports of Chinese electric vehicles.
