"We continue to make great progress in our integration planning for Southern Glazer's, and we look forward to a successful close of our transaction planned for later in the second quarter."
Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. (“Southern") and Glazer’s, Inc.
(“Glazer’s") today announced leadership appointments for the commercial
organization of the future Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, LLC
(“Southern Glazer’s").
"Our announcement today is another example of the positive momentum we
have in building a world class organization with industry-leading
talent," stated Wayne Chaplin, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Southern. "We continue to make great progress in our integration
planning for Southern Glazer's, and we look forward to a successful
close of our transaction planned for later in the second quarter."
“Southern Glazer’s will have a world-class team leading its commercial
operation from day one of the new company," said Brad Vassar, Executive
Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Southern. “Each of these
leaders will bring a tremendous amount of industry expertise, knowledge
and commitment to drive continuous growth and value for our suppliers.
The collective experience of these leaders is unparalleled in the
industry—and together our team will deliver exceptional service and
support to our trading partners, as well as leadership to each of our
team members."
The leaders reporting to Brad Vassar include the following:
Ray Lombard, Executive Vice President, Supplier Management and Business
Development. Lombard will be managing a group of executives who are
responsible for leading certain spirit and wine suppliers. That group
will establish companywide priorities regarding programs and promotions
and ensuring consistent ways of working across Southern Glazer’s
suppliers, selling regions and shared services.
Gerald (“Gerry") Rivero, Jr., Executive Vice President, Managing
Director, Coastal-Pacific Wine & Spirits Division. Rivero will oversee
Southern Glazer’s Coastal-Pacific Wine & Spirits, which is the dedicated
division for the Diageo/Moët Hennessy portfolio in Southern’s current 31
states. Following the combination of Southern and Glazer’s, he will also
oversee Glazer’s current Diageo/Moët Hennessy states, including
Arkansas, Iowa (wine), Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio (low-proof and wine),
Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.
Rudy Ruiz, Executive Vice President, Emerging Spirits Brands. Ruiz will
focus on identifying and spearheading potential new spirits brands
throughout the marketplace and exploring potential new expansion
opportunities.
Steve Taylor, Executive Vice President, Managing Director, Constellation
Portfolio. Taylor will oversee Southern Glazer’s division for the
Constellation Brands portfolio, which serves 12 states today through
Southern. Following the combination, he will also oversee the
Constellation business in five additional states currently served by
Glazer’s, including Arkansas, Kansas, Iowa, Ohio and Tennessee.
Shawn Thurman, Executive Vice President, National Accounts. Thurman will
manage an on- and off-premise team that will be responsible for driving
the execution of programs and promotions across on- and off-premise
national accounts, including the delivery of goals and objectives for
Southern Glazer’s and its suppliers within these accounts.
John Trainer, Executive Vice President, Managing Director,
American-Liberty Spirits & Wine Division. Trainer will oversee Southern
Glazer’s American-Liberty Spirits & Wine division, which is the
dedicated division for the Pernod Ricard USA portfolio in Southern’s
current 33 states. Following the combination, he will also oversee
Pernod Ricard USA in three additional states currently served by
Glazer’s, including Arkansas, Kansas and Tennessee.
Tony Truzzolino, Executive Vice President, Managing Director, Beam
Suntory Portfolio. Truzzolino will oversee Southern Glazer’s Beam
Suntory business across Southern’s current 30 states. Following the
combination, he will also oversee Beam Suntory in seven additional
states currently served by Glazer’s, including Arkansas, Iowa (wine),
Kansas, Louisiana, Ohio (low-proof and wine), Tennessee and Texas.
As previously announced, Steve Cohen will oversee Southern Glazer’s
Transatlantic Spirits division as Executive Vice President, Managing
Director, which will—upon closing—market, sell and distribute the
Bacardi U.S.A. portfolio across the entire Southern Glazer’s footprint
of 44 U.S. states plus Canada and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“The wine business has been vital to our innovation, growth and overall
business success for nearly a half century—and now we will extend this
momentum as Southern Glazer’s," said Mel Dick, who will serve as
Southern Glazer’s Senior Vice President and President of the Wine
Division. “The future of wine in America is monumental—both for the
tremendous domestic wines of America as well as the rich tapestry of
imported wines from around the world. We know that, together, both
companies have the most experienced and credentialed wine professionals
in the industry who can and will expertly steward our broad-ranging
portfolio of brands to bring unparalleled success to our family of
leading wine suppliers."
Reporting to Mel Dick:
Steve Slater, Executive Vice President, General Manager, Wine Division.
Slater will lead a team responsible for working with Southern Glazer’s
portfolio of leading wine suppliers—with a high focus on further
enhancing the fine wine capabilities of the company.
This group of leaders will work closely with the previously announced
Southern Glazer’s Regional Presidents – John Wittig (Eastern Region),
Mike McLaughlin (Central Region), and Patrick Daul (Western Region) –
and Kevin Fennessey, Executive Vice President, Commercial Operations to
develop and implement industry-leading supplier and customer strategies.
All leaders will ensure a consistent execution across all regions,
focused on driving value for suppliers, customers and trading partners.
About Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc.
Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. is the nation’s largest wine
and spirits distributor and broker with operations in 35 markets. The
multi-state distributor currently operates in: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona,
California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida,
Kentucky, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Maine,
Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New
Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South
Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and
Wyoming. Southern also holds operating licenses and permits in Nebraska,
North Dakota and South Dakota. On a national basis, Southern Wine &
Spirits of America, Inc. employs more than 14,500 team members. Southern
urges all retail customers and adult consumers to market, sell, serve
and enjoy its products responsibly.
For more information about Southern and its responsible consumption
program, see: http://www.southernwine.com.
About Glazer’s, Inc.
Glazer’s, one of the country’s largest privately held companies,
currently operates in 15 states, Canada and the Caribbean, and is one of
the nation’s largest distributors of wine, spirits and malt beverage
products. The company has operations in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas,
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi,
Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Canada, and the US Virgin
Islands. The third-generation family business was founded in Dallas in
1933.
For more information, please visit our website at www.glazers.com.
Contact:
Press Contact:
Kekst
Mark Semer
212-521-4800