Southern Wine & Spirits Appoints Steve Zielonko as Vice President, National Category Management

MIAMI–(BUSINESS WIRE— Thomas McDevitt, Senior Vice President, Shared Information Services, Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. (Southern) — the nation’s leading wine and spirits distributor with operations in 35 states — today appointed Steve Zielonko as Vice President, National Category Management, effective March 23. Zielonko will report to McDevitt.

Southern Wine & Spirits

Zielonko comes to Southern from Accenture where he focused on Route-to-Market/Perfect Sales Solutions for North American clients. Zielonko has more than 30 years of experience working on Category Management projects for both national retailers and large Consumer Packaged Goods companies, including 16 years with Anheuser-Busch, InBev. During his time with Anheuser-Busch, Zielonko was responsible for best practices and training development for the category and space management organization — as well as managing teams focused on the national retail sales grocery channel, national retail sales convenience channel, and major off-premise retailers in the grocery, convenience, mass and drug channels.

Commenting on Zielonko’s appointment, McDevitt said, “Southern is continually enhancing our sales and National Category Management capabilities. We are confident that Steve will develop and lead a Best-in-Class National Category Management strategy for the many large retailer partners that we are proud to serve. On behalf of our entire Southern team, I want to welcome Steve to the company.”

Zielonko has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Marketing from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. He is also a Certified Professional Category Manager from the Category Management Association. Zielonko will be based in St. Louis, Missouri.

About Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc.

Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. is the nation’s largest wine and spirits distributor and broker with operations in 35 markets. The multi-state distributor currently operates in: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Kentucky, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wyoming. Southern also holds operating licenses and permits in Nebraska and Texas. On a national basis, Southern Wine & Spirits of America, Inc. employs more than 14,000 team members. Southern urges all retail customers and adult consumers to market, sell, serve and enjoy its products responsibly.

For more information about Southern and its responsible consumption program, see: http://www.southernwine.com.