Manuel Garcia will join the Villiger International Handmade Cigar Division. This announcement comes as the company continues to bolster its rapidly growing premium handmade cigar presence in the marketplace.
Garcia gained global recognition as the commercial vice president of Habanos. As the head of sales and marketing for 15 years at Habanos, Manuel visited more than 100 countries, creating valuable relationships. Garcia has gained critical acclaim for helping shape the image of Cuban cigars worldwide. A longtime friend and colleague of Heinrich Villiger, he is expected to make an immediate impact at Villiger Cigars.
“I feel this to be an overdue reunion, as Manuel worked alongside me from 1991-1995 as the general manager of 5th Avenue Products Trading (exclusive Habanos distributor for Germany),” said Villiger stated. “We look forward to Manuel contributing immediately, as we continue to forge ahead with delivering the best possible products to our consumers.”
“It is incredible to join such a prestigious company as Villiger,” said Garcia. “It is also a pleasure to return to work actively in the fascinating world of the handmade cigars. Mr. Heinrich Villiger and I have known each other since 1990, when I started working with him at the 5th Avenue Products Trading. We worked there for five years together and after that, I was appointed as commercial vice president of Habanos.
“We continued to maintain very close relationship, and because of that, I had the great opportunity to learn a lot about cigars and the business in general. Mr. Villiger is an exceptional man, very experienced, and extremely humane. I have great admiration for him.”
Garcia will be headquartered in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, at the ABAM Cigar Factory. The ABAM factory is where all Dominican Villiger products are produced, including the newly released Villiger- La Flor De Ynclan.