Niles, IL – April 12th, 2021 — Winesellers, Ltd., the family-owned, global importer and marketer of fine wine is pleased to announce the hire of Matthew Johnson to Executive Vice President of Sales. In his newly created position, he will report to brothers and Co-Presidents Adam Sager and Jordan Sager.
Johnson will lead the entire sales team including Vice President of National Accounts, Vice President of Chain Sales, and Vice President of Eastern Region Sales. Other key responsibilities include strengthening and expanding the wholesaler network and attracting revenue generating brands and suppliers.
“Matthew has a proven track record of executing at a high level while working for family-owned wine importers much like ourselves”; says Adam Sager Co-President of Winesellers, Ltd. “As a family-owned and led company, we welcome this new outside experience and look forward to adding best practices”, says Sager.
Johnson has spent the last 25 years in the Wine & Spirits Industry. Johnson was most recently Senior Vice President of National Sales for Opici Wines & Spirits, a 4th Generation family-owned importer, where he was tasked with building, mentoring, and managing a team of 25 across all 50 states. Prior to that Johnson spent the last 15 years in distribution and imports, starting with fine dining on premise sales for a distributor followed by many years of senior leadership for major suppliers such as Palm Bay International and Frederick Wildman & Sons.
“His experience building, managing, and leading sales teams will be a tremendous asset to Adam and me,” says Co-President Jordan Sager. “Operating a wine import company pulls us in many different directions, so we are excited to have Matthew focused full-time on leading our talented team and executing sales plans for our diverse portfolio of suppliers and brands, continues Sager.
Johnson notes, “I am truly humbled and ecstatic to be joining such a well-respected Fine Wine Importer, led by dynamic, active and hardworking leaders like Jordan and Adam. Winesellers is a company that embraces the future and honors the past and that nimble approach is what it takes to succeed in this climate. Our focus will be to offer best in class tools and level of service to our existing, and new, suppliers, distributor partners and customers while continuing to represent the best wines available on the market today and for many years to come.”
ABOUT WINESELLERS, LTD.
Founded in 1978 by Yale Sager, Winesellers, Ltd. is a second generation, family-owned and globally recognized importer, and marketer of fine wines to the U.S. market. The company’s portfolio represents the finest quality of wines in their respective price category and has widespread distribution in all 50 U.S. states. The Winesellers, Ltd. portfolio includes producers and brands from Argentina, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, and other countries worldwide.
