WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Heineken USA Inc. has appointed Ivan Gutierrez as zone sales director of the Heartland Zone and Brian Fried as regional vice president sales of the Western Region.
In his new role, Gutierrez will report to Jeffrey Colbert, Central Region vice president, and he will be responsible for driving performance and delivering results through distributor management, retail execution and zone team development.
"The Heineken USA Central Region welcomes Ivan's strong history of industry sales and international business development to the team," said Colbert, "His expertise will play an integral role in driving our business results and strengthening our success-oriented culture."
At Heineken USA, Gutierrez will be responsible for developing the Heartland Zone's business plan and budget, while assigning goals and managing distributor execution across the portfolio. He will play a key role in the selection, execution and assessment of brand retail marketing programs, as well as the zone's pricing and gross profits to ensure delivery of regions financial objectives.
Gutierrez brings more than 14 years of international sales, marketing and business development experience to Heineken USA. Most recently, Gutierrez served as the America and Asia export director for Cerveceria Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma in Monterrey, Mexico, where he lead a diverse, multicultural team to develop brand sales and equity in 40 countries in concert with 45 commercial partners.
In addition to his experience at Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma, Gutierrez held positions as business development manager, Gulf Zone, field marketing executive for FEMSA Cerveza and North Texas district sales manager for Inbev USA.
In his new role, Fried will report to Scott Blazek, senior vice president of sales, and he will be responsible for driving Heineken USA performance and delivering results through the effective management of regional resources, as well as establishing and maintaining the Heineken USA culture in the region.
"Brian has established himself as a true leader at Heineken USA, developing and implementing programs in the Western Region that have led to improved sales volume, increased revenue and strengthened our relationships with distributors and customers," said Blazek. "His breadth of sales experience and deep knowledge of our brands and organization will be a huge asset to the Sales Leadership Team, and we are thrilled to have him on-board."
At Heineken USA, Fried will be responsible for establishing objectives, strategies and tactics, and guiding account planning, execution and culture for the Western Region. He will oversee relationships with Heineken USA distributor partners and key regional accounts, as well as assess and improve the effectiveness of retail executions that support brand development to ensure delivery of company objectives.
Fried has a strong history of leadership and success at Heineken USA. Since joining the company in 2004, he has served in roles including group distributor manager, zone sales director, and most recently, director of business development. In his latest role, Fried implemented a standardized reporting process to maximize time and effectiveness with customers and collaborated with zone directors to identify and close an additional 4,000 points of Dos Equis distribution.
Prior to Heineken USA, Fried gained extensive sales and management experience in the beverage and consumer goods industries, holding positions of director of sales-West, AMI imports and division manager, Cadbury Schweppes. Fried began his career at Miller Brewing Co., holding positions of increasing responsibility over his 10- year tenure.
He will continue to be based in the company's Long Beach, Calif., office.
Separately, Heineken recently announced its second annual Black History Month Art contest. It will provide one consumer a chance to win $5,000 and an opportunity to have his or her artwork featured in the 2013 Heineken Black History Month advertising campaign. The winning artwork will be featured across national print, digital, in-store point-of-sale and out-of-home advertising during Black History Month in 2013.
It is encouraging fans and aspiring artists to upload their original artwork on the Heineken Black History Month tab on Heineken's Facebook page, www.facebook.com/Heineken, until February 17. Voting will take place February 18 to 29. The top 10 entries will be judged on creativity and originality, as well as each artist's portrayal of black history and Heineken. The winner will be announced on March 8, 2012.
The Heineken Black History Month program will kick off this year with a campaign featuring artwork by the 2011 finalist, Latasha Williams.
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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