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Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. Announces Corporate Senior Executive Appointment
Company Appoints Steve Slater to Executive Vice President, General Manager Southern Wine & Spirits of America Wine Division
Miami, Florida, April 21, 2010: Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. (Southern),
the nation’s leading wine and spirits distributor is pleased to announce that Steve Slater
has been promoted to a newly-established position as the Company’s Executive Vice
President, General Manager of its Wine Division. In his new role, Mr. Slater will serve
alongside Mel Dick, Senior Vice President and President, Wine Division, working on
wine supplier relations, innovation, promotions and portfolio management. Mr. Slater
previously served as Vice President, General Manager of the Company’s Southern
California division, based in Cerritos. This appointment will be effective September 1st.
Mel Dick commented, “I am thrilled to have Steve Slater join the Southern Wine &
Spirits of America headquarters to work with me on a national and international basis.
Steve is extraordinarily knowledgeable about wine and knows the U.S. wine business
inside and out. His position will help to continue Southern’s wine excellence and growth
long into the future. “
Wayne Chaplin, Southern’s President & Chief Operating Officer, added, “I have had the
pleasure of working with Steve for over two decades. He is a consummate gentleman
and savvy wine professional. We are excited to add his talents and skills to Mel’s team
and are certain it will benefit Southern’s wine supplier relations across the entire
country.”
Mr. Slater joined Southern in 1988. A former foreign correspondent for Voice of America
in Brazil, he began his career in the wine and spirits industry working as the general
manager of a fine wine shop in San Diego. Mr. Slater came up through the ranks at
Southern, where he started out as a broad-market sales person. He has held numerous
SWS management positions since then and was recipient of the 2004 Diageo
Distributor of the Year Award and the 1999 SWS Southern California Executive of the
Year Award.
About his new role, Mr. Slater said, “I am extremely honored to have the opportunity to
work alongside Mel Dick, a true leader in this great industry. I can think of no more
exciting and challenging position than to uphold the great tradition of service excellence
that Mel and Southern are known for in the wine category. I want to thank all of my
Southern colleagues, my customers and supplier partners for their longstanding support
and friendship through the years.”
Regarding this senior executive appointment, Brad Vassar, Executive Vice President,
General Manager of Southern, said, “I want to congratulate Steve Slater on his new
executive position. I know Steve well from my time in Southern California and have
every confidence that this seasoned professional will apply his skills and talents of
creativity, diligence and intelligent management along with his vast knowledge of wine
in his new role.”
About Southern Wine & Spirits of America
Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. is the nation’s largest wine and spirits
distributor with operations in 30 states. The multi-state distributor currently operates in:
Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Hawaii, Illinois,
Indiana, Maine, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North
Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia—as
well as the additional seven states of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana,
Wyoming and Utah through the Southern-Odom/Spirits West partnership. Southern has
recently announced the formation of a joint venture in Minnesota with J.J. Taylor
Distributing Company and in Maryland and the District of Columbia with F.P. Winner
Wine & Spirits. Southern also holds operating licenses and permits in Nebraska and
Texas. On a national basis, Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. employs more
than 11,000 team members. For more information contact: www.southernwine.com |
Posted on Wednesday, April 21, 2010 (Archive on Tuesday, June 01, 2010)
Posted by rsada Contributed by rsada
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