Southern Glazer’s Appoints New Chief Transformation Officer

Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits has appointed John Wittig to the new role of Chief Transformation Officer, effective July 1, 2018.

In this role, Wittig will report to Southern Glazer’s CEO, Wayne Chaplin, and COO, Brad Vassar. He will be responsible for identifying and executing opportunities for profitable growth within Southern Glazer’s existing business units and in yet-untapped markets and product segments, the company says in a press release.

“Southern Glazer’s has established this new role to leverage its broad resources across all functions to accelerate business transformation and improve marketplace competitiveness for the long-term,” the company says. “This includes identifying opportunities to apply state-of-the-art technology to drive efficiencies and accelerate growth as the world’s preeminent distributor of beverage alcohol.”

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Wittig most recently held the role of President, East Region, for Southern Glazer’s. Gene Sullivan, currently the EVP and GM of Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits of Florida, will replace Wittig in this role, with responsibility for overseeing the company’s operations in eight eastern U.S. markets and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Wittig and Sullivan will work together to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities leading up to a transition on July 1, the company says. A replacement for the Executive Vice President & General Manager of Florida position will be announced in early June.

“John is a trusted and respected leader and highly-effective team builder,” says Wayne Chaplin. “In addition to his in-depth experience, these leadership qualities make him the ideal person to drive transformational change that will best position Southern Glazer’s for the future. We are also very lucky to have Gene, a proven leader with the company for 28 years, ready to step up and into the Regional President role.”

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Prior to his role as President of Southern Glazer’s East Region, Wittig served as Executive Vice President, General Manager of Southern Wine & Spirits of Florida. Before that, he served as Executive Vice President, General Manager of the company’s South Florida division and of its Nevada division.

Before joining Southern Glazer’s, Wittig held various sales management positions in his 33 years in the beverage alcohol industry. This experience included 16 years with Seagram’s in the company’s corporate management program.

Before his current role as Executive Vice President, General Manager of Florida, Sullivan was Executive Vice President, General Manager of Southern Glazer’s Coastal Wine & Spirits sales division from June 1, 2010 until March 1, 2016. Prior to that post, Sullivan was Vice President, General Manager, Central Division of Southern Wine & Spirits of Florida from 2005 to 2010. In 2003, he was promoted to General Sales Manager for Wine and Spirits in the South Florida division. Sullivan began his career with the company in 1990 as a sales representative in the Orlando market.

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