Casa Vinicola Zonin USA Appoints Steve Howard to National Sales Director and Bill Santomaso to Western Director

Charlottesville, Virginia, April 13, 2011 – – The Zonin family today announced it has appointed Steve Howard to the role of National Sales Director and Bill Santomaso to the position of Western Director for its US offices.

Mr. Howard proved his leadership skills during the past years of service as Western Sales Director. He promoted and initiated major changes in Zonin USA’s distributor network, executing his tasks in a timely manner and in line with the corporate brand strategies. Since Steve took over the responsibility as National Account Director, Zonin USA has witnessed a considerable increase in new partnerships for both on-premise and off-premise channels, leading to a significant growth of sales. Steve has always had a clear understanding of the value of the new Marketing Team, supporting its efforts completely. “The National Sales Director position will facilitate streamlining our sales operations, insuring we are all moving the business forward cohesively”, said Francesco Zonin, President of Zonin USA. “Our focus is to communicate the same values while keeping in mind our company mission”.

Bill Santomaso will report to the National Sales Director. In his new post, Santomaso will coordinate and lead the Southwest (TX, LA, NM, AZ, OK & MS) and the Pacific (CA, NV, HI, OR, CO, UT, WA, WY, MT & ID) divisions in addition to the Southeast region of Florida. Bill’s leadership and successes warrant this promotion. Since joining the company, he has grown Florida sales at a rate that surpasses all other territories. “We very much appreciate Bill’s loyalty to the company and his skills working in our team”, said Massimo Tuzzi, Executive Vice President of Zonin USA.

Casa Vinicola Zonin, Italy’s largest privately held wine company, is one of the most popular imported brands in the United States. The company has 7 wine estates and a presence in 109 countries all over the world.

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