It's been about 7 months since Suntory appointed its first chief from outside the founding family, Takeshi Niinami. He left his post as head of Japanese c-store chain Lawson for his new role at Suntory, which he views as his "'last chance'" to run alongside global ceos including Diageo's Ivan Menezes and A-B InBev's Carlos Brito, according to his recent interview with the Financial Times.