Prior to joining CAO, Giese spent 21 years as director of sales with John Middleton Inc. and served six years as regional sales manager with General Cigar Co. He is a past recipient of the "Tobacco Man of the Year" award from the Southern Association [image-nocss] of Wholesale Distributors and was awarded the "Captain of the Industry" honor by the Pennsylvania Distributors Association.
"I am excited to be a part of such a dedicated, passionate and knowledgeable team as CAO," Giese said, "and I am looking forward to further building the mass market cigar segment with the company."
Added CAO Chairman Gary Hyams: "John's experience and unique perspective will be a great help to CAO as we look to grow our service, sales and brand awareness nationally in the mass market segment."
CAO is the producer of one of the country's top lines of premium cigars. Founded by Cano A. Ozgener in Nashville, Tenn., 41 years ago, today CAO products can be found worldwide.
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