MIAMI & DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits (“Southern Glazer’s”)—the world's pre-eminent distributor of beverage alcohol—today announced that it has reorganized its supply chain team to better leverage its senior leaders to drive improved operational execution and enhanced talent development across all U.S. markets. As part of this organizational change, the following promotions are effective February 1, 2020:
- David Gneo has been promoted to Vice President of Operations with National responsibility. He currently holds the position of Vice President of Operations for the East Region. Mr. Gneo will have day to day overall responsibility for Division performance and strategic initiatives. Reporting to Mr. Gneo will be the Security, Operations Management, Facility Project Management and Analytics functions.
- Joseph Merritt has been promoted to Vice President of Fleet Operations. He currently holds the position of Vice President of Operations for the Central Region. Mr. Merritt will be responsible for all fleet operations, procurement, maintenance and related technology.
Both roles will report to Ron Flanary, Senior Vice President, National Operations, Southern Glazer’s.
The reorganization also includes the creation of five new geographic zones: West, South Central, North Central, North East, and South East. These geographical sub regions will allow the Company’s most skilled and experienced operational leaders to extend their interaction to markets outside of their previous primary responsibility. The following promotions support this new organizational model:
- Roy Kohn has been promoted to Vice President of Operations – North East, responsible for the open states of New York, Maryland, Delaware, and District of Columbia as well as the control states of Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and Pennsylvania.
- Jason Witty has been promoted to Vice President of Operations – South East, responsible for the open states of Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Ohio, as well as the control states of North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.
- Eric Lis has been promoted to Vice President of Operations – North Central, responsible for the open states of Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, South and North Dakota as well as the control state of Michigan.
- Bill Arends has been promoted to Vice President of Operations – South Central, responsible for the open states of Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee as well as the control states of Mississippi and Alabama.
- Robert Pavone has been promoted to Vice President of Operations – West, responsible for Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
These roles will continue to have direct reporting relationship to the Executive Vice President and General Manager of each market, with a dotted line reporting to Ron Flanary.
Bobby Burg, Senior Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer stated, “With these changes, we can better leverage best practices across our entire footprint, while also providing our Regional Presidents with additional resources to help them achieve strategic initiatives and project execution. This high-performing, proven team of leaders provides a combined 150 years of experience to the organization that I trust will enhance our already industry-leading execution.”
Lee Hager, Executive Vice President, Secretary and Administration, added, “In their new roles these executives will be able to better share their knowledge, focus on career development of future leaders, and help us build the strongest bench of operational talent in the industry.”
About Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits
Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits is the world’s pre-eminent distributor of beverage alcohol, and proud to be a multi-generational, family-owned company. The Company has operations in 44 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, Canada, and the Caribbean, and employs nearly 22,000 team members. Southern Glazer’s urges all retail customers and adult consumers to market, sell, serve, and enjoy its products responsibly. For more information visit www.southernglazers.com. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @sgwinespirits and on Facebook at Facebook.com/SouthernGlazers.
