Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits, an importer and marketer of wines and spirits, has unveiled a new framework for its Marketing Department designed to better meet the needs of consumers, retailers and distributors. The department will now be organized into three specialized areas: consumer, commercial and innovation – with new leadership across these three business units, the company states.
Moving forward, the Consumer Team will lead all consumer marketing communications, creative and other activities, while the Commercial Marketing Team will be responsible for all distributor, retail and on-premise tools and activities. The Innovation Team will lead all new product creation and development, according to the company.
“These changes reflect our obsession with becoming the foremost brand builders in our industry,” said Tom Steffanci, President of Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits, in a news release. “Greater marketing specialization will enable our marketing teams to develop true expertise in serving the needs of each tier and channel of our industry, ultimately delighting our consumers.”
Newly Appointed Internal Leaders
Along with the organizational shifts, Deutsch Family has announced newly appointed internal leaders to support the relevant divisions:
- Dan Kleinman, who joined the company in 2017, has been promoted to Chief Brand Officer. Kleinman previously managed Josh Cellars, [yellow tail], and several other wines while also overseeing Consumer Insights, Marketing Services and Public Relations. In his new role as Chief Brand Officer, Kleinman will lead the Consumer Marketing team, which is responsible for driving consumer-focused marketing and PR campaigns and activations.
- Susan Kilgore, who has been with the company since 2011, has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Commercial Marketing and is now leading all channel programming and the management of the company’s commercial brands. Kilgore will lead all aspects of commercial-facing marketing, including advocacy, marketing services, distribution management and trade programming. Her team will concentrate on developing and executing trade programs that will help scale brands faster.
- Renato Reyes, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer, will now lead all brand innovation in addition to his existing responsibilities managing the organization’s strategy and acquisition activities. In his expanded role, Reyes oversees the development of all new products and brands for Deutsch Family, a responsibility he is familiar with already, having been the Chief Marketing Officer for Deutsch Family from 2010 – 2018. Reyes’ team will concentrate on innovation aimed at better meeting the needs and desires of modern consumers.
With new areas of specialization for consumer, commercial and innovation workstreams, Deutsch Family is even more prepared to build exciting consumer brands, exceed distributor and retailer expectations and grow its leadership role in the wine and spirits industry, the company states.
