January 30, 2012, Miami, FL - Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. (Southern), the nation’s largest wine and spirits distributor with current operations in 35 states, is proud to announce the appointment of Felix Williams to Vice President, Strategic Accounts, responsible for managing the relationship between Southern and Publix.  This newly-created, national position underscores Southern’s dedication and commitment to strategic national accounts like Publix.

Williams has over 30 years of sales, marketing account management and executive experience within the food and beverage industry.  From 1999 to 2009, Williams rose through the ranks to Chief Executive Officer of Gold Coast Beverage Distributors—where his base of experience with Publix grew and deepened.  Thereafter, Williams joined Diageo where he continued to manage the Publix relationship, and, most recently, he worked at Southern’s Coastal Wine & Spirits in Florida as the Director of Chain Sales & Strategy. 

Commenting on the appointment, Kevin Fennessey, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing, said, “Felix’s experience in the off-premise and his long history with Publix makes him perfectly suited for this new, strategic role at Southern.”

“Felix is a talented sales and marketing professional with a ‘service first’ mentality,” added Steve Power, Executive Vice President, General Manager of Southern Wine & Spirits of Florida. “We look forward to his leadership in this critical relationship for us, drawing on his decades of sales, marketing and account management experience.”

This appointment is effective February 1, 2012, and Williams will report directly to George Fisher, Senior Vice President, National Accounts-off-premise.