WES Brands, parent company of Flecha Azul Tequila and BSB Flavored Whiskey, announced on July 13 that industry leader, Shelly Stein, has been appointed as Chairman of the WES Brands Advisory Board.
“I look forward to working with the incredibly talented team of industry veterans at WES Brands,” Stein said. “The company has already seen substantial growth with existing brands and has many exciting innovations in the pipeline that are sure to propel the business forward. I retired from my role as President of Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits with the utmost gratitude for the experience of helping to build the industry leader in alcohol distribution.”
An Industry Leader
Stein spent the last 13 years as CEO of Glazer’s Distributors and then President of Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, where he was instrumental in positioning the company as a leader in the beverage alcohol distribution space. As CEO of the family-owned Glazer’s Distributors, Stein played a critical role in the merger of Glazer’s and Southern Wine & Spirits to create Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits.
“WES Brands is extremely fortunate to have Shelly as the Chair of their Advisory Board,” Wayne E. Chaplin, Chief Executive Officer, Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits, commented. “His creativity and knowledge of our industry was a huge benefit to us at Southern Glazer’s and these same traits will serve as a great value creator for the WES Brands portfolio.” Stein will continue to serve as an advisor to Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits Board of Managers and remain as Chief Executive Officer of Glazer’s Beer and Beverage. He will also continue to serve on the Board of Advisors for Deutsch Family Wine and Spirits.
Prior to his tenure in the beverage alcohol space, Stein acted as an advisor to Glazer’s Distributors while a Vice Chairman of Investment Banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He also previously held roles as a Senior Managing Director at Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. for over 20 years and as a partner in the Dallas law firm of Hughes & Luce.
A New Executive Suite
This appointment of Stein comes just months after WES Brands’ announcement of a new executive suite, including Shawn Thurman as Chief Executive Officer, Sean Penn as Co-President & Chief Operating Officer, Kyle Stein as Co-President, Chris Jebbia as Senior Vice President of Finance, Chris Seithel as Senior Vice President of Sales, Lauren Ryan-Kiyak as Senior Vice President of Marketing, and Russel Louis as Senior Vice President of Operations.
