Breakthru appoints former Empire CEO

Lloyd Sobel has joined Breakthru Beverage Group as an executive vice president two months after he was dismissed as CEO and president of Empire Merchants.

Breakthru Beverage Group has appointed former Empire CEO Lloyd Sobel

Sobel has taken on the role of executive vice president, commercial development, where he will lead the development of strategic business processes.

He will be based in Breakthru’s New York City office and will report to CEO and president Greg Baird.

“It’s an honour to have Lloyd become part of the Breakthru Beverage Group family,”, said Baird. “He is someone that we, along with so many others in our industry, have come to admire for his leadership and integrity.”

“I know that I speak for our co-chairs, Charlie Merinoff and Rocky Wirtz, as well as Vice Chair Danny Wirtz, and all of our executives and associates, in saying that we are very excited to have Lloyd on our team.”

Sobel was named in Empire’s ongoing civil suit, which alleged that Merinoff and Baird were part of a “reprehensible criminal scheme” that “millions of dollars” worth of wine and spirits smuggled into New York and sold illegally.

His career in the wine and spirits industry began in 1978 at Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, where he held roles in market research, sales, marketing and administration

In 1994, he moved to Charmer Industries to run the Seagram business, where he was named president of Charmer Industries-Metro N.Y. Charmer Industries later merged with Peerless Importers to become Empire Merchants.

Of his appointment, Sobel said said: “I am absolutely thrilled to join an organisation that appreciates and respects an employee’s core set of values and the skill set they bring with them from their past accomplishments.

“I thank the ownership and leadership of Breakthru Beverage Group for this tremendous opportunity.”