Profile of Mr. Peter Cressy, President and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council
WASHINGTON, April 25–He may be relatively new in Capitol Hill lobbying circles, but he is no novice when it comes to Washington politics.
After a naval career filled with prestigious assignments and nearly a decade in collegiate administration, including a stint as president of UMASS Dartmouth, Peter Cressy, 60, now has a new challenge as president and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), the lobbying arm of the liquor industry.
Mr. Cressy’s visibility within the Capitol Beltway has increased over the past several months. He has received high praise within industry circles for organizing conferences designed to address binge and underage drinkers. Additionally, his name appeared on the front pages of the nation’s newspapers last month when he disputed NBC’s decision to ban spirits advertising.
Since his arrival in Washington almost three years ago, Mr. Cressy said he has sought to promote responsible drinking. “We think people should view the use of beverage alcohol as a practice of moderation,” he said. “We need to demystify [alcohol], and normalize it·. I believe normalization will lead to moderation and responsible use.”
Citing a need to “demystify” the public’s perception of distilled spirits, he said many Americans are unaware that the alcoholic content of a standard mixed drink is the same as that of a 12-ounce can of beer and a 5-ounce glass of wine. According to the organization’s Web site, www.distilledspirits.org, spirits are taxed at triple the rate of wine and double that of beer. Further, the site said, a 750-millimeter bottle of spirits at an average cost of $10.62 is taxed 55 percent in federal, local and state taxes. “That creates a dangerous misperception,” Cressy said.
During his tenure, DISCUS determined it would seek to advertise its members’ products on television in an attempt to end the near-monopoly beer and wine industries hold over that medium’s alcoholic beverage advertising. While a good chunk of cable channels air spirits ads, including ESPN and TBS, the broadcast networks do not.
Last winter, NBC decided to depart from the networks’ longstanding refusal to accept hard-liquor ads. But pressure from some members of Congress and beer advocates persuaded the General Electric Co.-owned network to change its decision
“I thought it was a great shame,” Mr. Cressy said. “Our standards [for the ads] are higher than the highest of any product in the history of television.” One in every five ads, he said, would have preached responsible drinking.
He added that currently, only one in 50 commercials on television promotes responsible drinking. “We think differentiating between liquor and beer makes no sense at all,” he said. “This could have been a good opportunity for [outside advisory groups] to demand high standards. The headline could have been, ‘Spirits set a new high standard, beer and wine to follow.’ What they’ve done is mask the problem.”
Mr. Cressy’s career began in the military after he received degrees in history and political science from Yale University in 1963. “It just made sense to me,” he said. “I was a child of World War II. My first memories were of my father as a war doctor. I grew up thinking it was important to spend some time in uniform.”
During his naval career, Mr. Cressy first became acclimated to Washington politics when he served in senior positions in the early 1980s at the State Department, the House and the Pentagon.
Raymond McGrath, a former Congressman from New York and now a Washington lobbyist, first met Cressy when he handled Mr. McGrath’s casework problems as naval liaison to the House.
During his 28 years in the Navy, Cressy served in Japan, Iceland, Italy and the Mediterranean. He also served aboard ships near the coast of Vietnam during the evacuation of Saigon and the Mayaguez Rescue Operation in 1975. He ended his military career as commander, Fleet Air Mediterranean, and commander, NATO Air Mediterranean, during the Gulf War.
Mr. Cressy said he had never intended to stay in the Navy that long, but “every time I planned to get out, the Navy offered me another challenge.”
During his Navy service, Mr. Cressy managed to receive a master’s degree in international affairs from George Washington University, a master’s in business administration from the University of Rhode Island and a doctorate in education from the University of San Francisco.
Before entering the military, he considered law, stock brokering and journalism as potential careers. Although academia was not a primary ambition for him while at Yale, it became intriguing to him during his studies at the Naval War College in Newport, R.I.
This passion for knowledge would eventually lead the retired rear admiral to pursue presidential positions at academic institutions, first at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and two years later at UMASS Dartmouth, positions he called the most challenging of his career.
“I think universities are complex places. As president, you have limited authority yet enormous responsibilities. You manage every day by consensus,” he said.
While at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Mr. Cressy caught the attention of Robert Karam, former vice president of the University of Massachusetts and currently president of the Karam Financial Group in New Bedford.
“We recognized he was a rising star in higher education,” said Mr. Karam, who was instrumental in bringing Mr. Cressy to the New Bedford-Fall River region to head UMASS Dartmouth.
One of Mr. Cressy’s primary responsibilities at UMASS Dartmouth was to bring together the New Bedford and Fall River communities into what is now referred to as Southcoast Massachusetts.
“I [sought] to increase the interaction of the university with the region, and I hope there was a positive effect on the economy and the quality of life in the region,” said Mr. Cressy, who made fundraising for UMASS Dartmouth one of his top priorities.
Before his arrival, the school was dependent on state aid, but by his departure in 1999, state aid had dropped from 70 to 40 percent of its total income, according to Mr. Karam.
Mr. Karam and Massachusetts State Senator Mark Montigny both credit Cressy with three other significant achievements at UMASS Dartmouth, all of which stem from his role as salesman: professional accreditation of the business school, growth of the Center for Marine Science and Technology in New Bedford and the establishment of the Advanced Technology Manufacturing Facility in Fall River.
After receiving a $3 million donation from Woolworth heir Chuck Charlton for the business college, Mr. Cressy raised additional funds to attract top faculty to the newly named Charlton School of Business. The growth of the Center for Marine Science and Technology appealed to Brian Rothschild, a top marine scientist, whose work at the center led to a $20 million increase in New Bedford’s fisheries business. The establishment of the Advanced Technology Manufacturing Facility improved that industry’s connection to the Southcoast community.
Mr. Cressy passionately and actively strove to integrate the university into the regional economy, Sen. Montigny said. “For those of us who care greatly about this area and UMASS Dartmouth, it is the absolute key institution for the Southcoast in terms of realizing its economic potential,” he added. “I think we’ve made more progress in the past five years, than all previous decades. And absolutely, you need someone like [Mr. Cressy] who shares the goal and is aggressive in the pursuit.”
With a laugh, Sen. Montigny said that Mr. Cressy constantly pestered him for money for the school. “He came to me about 365 days a year, and it was never enough. But that’s good. I always felt his aggressiveness was appropriate – it was very important for the institution for him to be aggressive and persistent.”
The growth of the Dartmouth campus and the surrounding communities during Mr. Cressy’s tenure led to its recognition by U.S. News & World Report as a top-ten northern regional university.
“When he’s focused on an issue, he expects everyone to be focused on that issue as well. He’s taken that same drive, same discipline and same persuasive skills to DISCUS,” asserted Mr. Karam.
Although it might seem unusual that a former university president is now a flack for the alcohol industry, Mr. Cressy said he promoted moderation and responsible drinking while at UMASS Dartmouth, and now delivers the same message in his current post.
Deno Curris of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities said he was impressed that Mr. Cressy and DISCUS are committed to eliminating alcohol abuse on college campuses. “I think we’ve been through the period of prohibition, and it was a failure,” he said. “If students do drink, we as educators should emphasize responsible drinking.”
He added that it was beneficial that a former university president is spearheading the crusade to combat underage and abusive drinking.
“Under the leadership of Mr. Cressy· we will be looking at implementation of programs that encourage education on alcohol consumption,” he said.
“I don’t know if it will work,” said Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, president of George Washington University. “Cressy’s one guy on a crusade, trying to get universities to take drinking seriously. But it’s always helpful to have somebody who can speak the sociology of university life and can begin his remarks [to schools] by pointing to the fact that he too has devoted a portion of his life to leading an academic institution. He seems to have an instinctive sympathy for academic life and an understanding for our values,” said Mr. Trachtenberg.
Reflecting on his unusual career path, Mr. Cressy said: “I consider myself very, very fortunate to serve in and work in three different careers. I thought the military was [ideal for me] during the Cold War. Nothing is as important to democracy as education. And likewise, I find it fascinating to be back in Washington.”
Mr. Cressy said he decided to leave the presidency of UMASS Dartmouth because “after six years, I thought it was a good time to leave. No CEO should stay too long.” After three years in Washington, he’s not saying how long he intends to stay with the Distilled Spirits Council but he will say he eventually intends to retire to Southcoast Massachusetts.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if this is his last hurrah, although you never know,” Mr. Trachtenberg said. “He’s still a youngish, vigorous man. This is surely a sufficient challenge to consume someone for a decade.”
Written for the New Bedford Standard-Times in New Bedford, Mass.
