Prior to being appointed to the position of Vice President National Account Systems for Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Joanne Mitchell was Director National Accounts for Southern Wine & Spirits of Florida for four years. In this role, she revitalized the Florida National Account business, the fastest growing segment in the adult beverage industry, by creating and developing a team dedicated to exceptional customer service standards.

 Her career at Southern began as District Manager, Key Accounts Division for Central Florida. Mitchell spearheaded the creation of the Key Accounts Division to incorporate all resort hotels including Disney properties, Disney theme parks, Universal Studios and key restaurants in the Orlando area. With a team of six dedicated hotel specialists, the division was tremendously successful because it focused on every aspect of the hospitality business.

Before joining the Southern team, Mitchell was Catering Manager for Premier Beverage Company, as well as a Sales Consultant. While at Premier, she initiated the first dedicated catering person for convention business in the Orlando resort market and worked closely with resort management to offer individualized wine sales through food and wine pairings, as well as creatively themed beverage convention events.

Mitchell also spent five years with Charmer Industries (Sunbelt Beverage) as an on-premise sales representative in the New York market. Successes included creating on-premise licensing of all JFK airport VIP lounges. She has 21 years of industry experience.

Much of Mitchell’s creative prowess comes from her education at the Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons School of Design in New York City. Now residing in Florida, Mitchell is married and has a 5-year-old daughter. She enjoys gourmet cooking, interior design, photography and family entertainment