WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Heineken USA has announced the appointment of Christopher Wade as vice president of sales development, effective May 1, 2012. In his new role, Wade will report to Scott Blazek, senior vice president of sales, and will be responsible for overseeing the delivery and execution of Heineken USA's commercial plans and priorities.
Wade's key focus will be performance management and defining the most efficient way to drive superior analytics and insights that impact Heineken USA's business results. Wade will also manage the company's annual business and sales operations planning.
"With nearly two decades of sales experience in the beer industry, Christopher brings a strong history of leadership and success to his new role on the Heineken USA Sales Management Team," said Blazek
Wade joined Heineken USA in 2008, as the zone director for Texoma (Texas-Oklahoma). He managed objectives for the zone and helped drive performance by overseeing distributor management, retail execution, and team development. Under Wade's leadership, Texoma was the best performing zone in the company three years in a row; delivered 14,000 new points of distribution and an incremental 464,000 cases versus the prior year.
Prior to joining Heineken USA, Wade most recently served as a director of sales at Diageo Guinness USA. Appointed to this role in 2005, Wade was responsible for a volume base of 2.5 million and more than $35 million in revenue. He oversaw P&L, local marketing initiatives and managing team development. During his five year tenure at Diageo Guinness USA, Wade held multiple positions, including serving as an area sales manager for Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Louisiana, and working as a distributor manager in Boston and New Hampshire.
Before joining Diageo Guinness USA, Wade served in a variety of sales roles at JJ Taylor Distributing and Bayside Distributing.
Wade will be relocating to the New York Tri-state area.
White Plains, N.Y.-based Heineken USA Inc., a leading beer importer, is a subsidiary of Heineken International BV. European brands imported into the United States include Heineken Lager, Heineken Light, Amstel Light, Newcastle Brown Ale and Buckler nonalcoholic brew. Heineken USA is also the exclusive USA importer for the Tecate, Tecate Light, Dos Equis, Sol, Carta Blanca and Bohemia brands from Mexico.
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