Steve’s breakdown: There’s a twist in the Bacardi review which we cover in September. The CMO has quit. We think there was some P&G vs. Unilever politics going on but this changes the review considerablly.

MIAMI, FL: Bacardi ‘s Chief Marketing Officer Silvia Lagnado is leaving the drinks company just two months after being named by US magazine AdAge as one of the 100 most influential woman in advertising .

London-based Lagnado joined Bacardi in 2010 fom Unilever where she won worldwide acclaim with Dove’s 2004 “Campaign for Real Beauty” portraying average women as being beautiful.

Her departure from Bacardi comes seven months after Ed Shirley joined the company as CEO from Procter and Gamble, where ironically he was vice chairman of beauty and grooming .

“We thank Silvia for her contributions and dedication to the company and wish her every success,” he said in a statement. Lagnado would depart “over the next few months to pursue other interests” and “a replacement will be announced in due course, said the Bermuda-based company.

Bacardi is still the world’s No 1 rum brand , but sales grew only 1.5% in 2011, according to Drinks International and Euromonitor International. Diageo’s Captain Morgan grew 2.2%, in fourth place behind Tanduay (up 1.9%) and McDowell’s No.1 Celebration (up 12.5%).

Dmitry “Dima” Ivanov is stepping up to senior global director of rums, where his task will be “developing the global rum strategy to drive our rums to the next level,” said Bacardi. He was previously director for the Bacardi brand in Russia.

Bacardi has launched an agency review for its flagship rum brand, which had been handled by WPP’s Johannes Leonardo, New York.

The Drinks International report commented , “Bacardi’s eponymous rum brand continues to be the global leader in the sector but its growth was weak (in 2011) remaining below its 2007 level.

“The brand suffers from overexposure in its core markets of North America and western Europe, where it is struggling to maintain volumes, let alone grow them.”

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