VICTOR, N.Y., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Constellation Brands, Inc. ( STZ, ASX: CBR), the world's leading wine company, announced today that it has promoted Jay Wright to president of Constellation Wines North America (CWNA) effective immediately. The CWNA organization includes Constellation Wines U.S. (CWUS) and Vincor Canada.

The company also announced that Jose F. Fernandez, chief executive officer (CEO) of CWNA, has begun a leave of absence due to personal medical reasons.

A native of Montreal, Wright was named executive vice president and chief commercial officer of CWUS in March, 2009. Prior to the post, he served as president of Vincor Canada for seven years. A graduate of Queen's University in Canada, Wright held management positions at Molson, Nabisco, and Procter & Gamble in Canada and at Borden Foods Corporation in the U.S. In his current role, Wright reports to Rob Sands, president and CEO of Constellation Brands, Inc. and will continue to do so in his new role.