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INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT Appointments Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. announced the promotion of James Bradney to VP, General Manager of the company’s Southern California Division. Bradney will report directly to Jack Brennan, Southern’s Executive VP and General Manager of California. In this new role, Bradney succeeds Steve Slater who was recently promoted to Executive Vice President, General Manager of Southern Wine & Spirits of America’s Wine Division. Sean Gallagher. Sean Gallagher is now National Sales Manager of Chappellet Vineyard & Winery. He was formerly a direct sales manager for St. Supery, an on-premise sales rep for SWS, and a fi ne wine manager for Empire Distributors, Inc. More recently, Gallagher was Mid-Atlantic Regional Manager for Moët Hennessy and an accounts manager for the Robert Mondavi Company. Mark Toepke. Mark W. Toepke is the new VP/Sales for Vias Imports, Ltd. He was with Kluge Estate Winery as National Sales Manager and before that, with Kendall Jackson Estates Winery. Toepke will be in charge of all U.S. sales. Deena Miskiel (National Sales Manager) and Michele Ricci (VP Vias Wholesale, NY & NJ) report directly to Toepke. Colin Westcott-Pitt. Heineken USA has promoted Colin Westcott-Pitt to the role of VP/Marketing for Dos Equis, Newcastle, and Amstel Light. Colin replaces Kheri Tillman who recently was named to the role of VP of Trade Marketing & Sales Strategy. Westcott-Pitt will be based in the new Heineken USA Marketing and Innovation Center located in the NYC offi ce and will report to Christian McMahan, Chief Marketing Offi ce. Kheri Tillman. Shawn Loggins has been appointed VP, Sales in Marketing at TGIC Importers, Inc. In this new role, Shawn will effectively become TGIC’s National Sales Manager with the U.S. sales team and managers reporting to him while continuing to integrate marketing strategies designed to grow sales. “Shawn will 14 / the tasting panel / october 2010 Shawn Loggins. report to me, and I will continue to focus our efforts on becoming one of the leading wine companies in the U.S.,” says Bob Guinn, Senior VP of TGIC. Loggins brings over 25 years of sales and marketing experience. Prior to TGIC, Loggins was President and CEO of Trentadue Winery. Niner Wine Estates has selected industry trendsetter Tucker Spear as the winery’s Director of Sales. “We are thrilled to have someone of Tucker’s caliber on board,” says proprietor Richard Niner. “I think that all of the pieces are in Tucker Spear. place for Niner Wine Estates to be one of the top wineries in California,” says Spear. “Niner Wine Estates winemaker Amanda Cramer was just named Winemaker of the Year at the 2010 San Francisco International Wine Competition, and the winery’s state-of-the-art facilities are unsurpassed, not to mention the quality of the wine. Those are the type of credentials that get my attention.” During his tenure as National Sales Manager for Fantesca Estate and Winery since February, 2008, Spear helped launch winemaker Heidi Barrett’s fi rst new project since leaving Screaming Eagle Winery and Vineyards, Previously, Spear held the position of National Sales Manager for the Western U.S. for Chalk Hill Estate. Kevin Haddox is part of the new sales team at Ascentia Wine Estates. Ascentia Wine Estates has announced a number of key hires across the country. The team is led by Todd DeVincenzi, Chief Sales and Marketing Offi cer. Kevin Haddox has been brought on as VP of National Accounts. Paul Rinaldi is the Regional Chain Manager in the Central and Eastern U.S. regions. Greg Dobie has been hired as Division VP for the Western U.S. Under Dobie, the Pacifi c Northwest will be served by Joe Shrum and Brian Murphy, and Northern California by Mike Goebel and Kristine Collier. Rick DeLavallade is Regional Sales Manager for Southern California, and Carl Russo is Regional Sales Manager for the Southwest. The new Division VP for the Eastern U.S. is Mike Onslager. In the Eastern U.S. are Bob Trimble, Ken Meyerson, Roy Coppola and Mike Cotter. Tom Fuchs fi lls the role of Division VP for the Central U.S.