Joe Chiusano steps down from Cusano

Cusano Cigars, a popular Dominican Republic cigar brand, is undergoing some changes in structure this month. Joe Chiusano has recently resigned from his role of president. Rather than hiring on someone new from outside, management has promoted J.T. Guagliardo and Bill Holliway from within to take over his responsibilities.

Cusano Cigars is owned by Davidoff, which acquired the brand in June of 2009 when it purchased DomRey Cigar, Inc., the company’s then-owner. Following acquisition of Cusano, Mike Chiusano, Joe Chiusano’s brother, was appointed to become the new president of Cusano Cigars. Mike left Cusano in February 2010, only about eight months later. His brother stepped up to fill his shoes, but only for a year. On the first of February, Joe Chiusano announced that he too would be resigning from the company.

Both J.T. Guagliardo and Bill Holliway were heads of marketing and sales divisions for Cusano Cigars before being singled out to act as the new co-presidents. Peter Baenninger, president of Davidoff, says that they have no interest in looking outside the company for somebody new, or selecting a single president to replace Joe. “It’s really a team now … J.T. and Bill will be responsible for the brand.”