Southern Glazer’s appoints senior strategic advisor
US distributor Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits has announced a transition within its corporate strategy leadership, with Stephen Von Oehsen moving to a new role.
Von Oehsen, senior vice-president of the office of strategic management (OSM), will transition from his current responsibilities to a senior strategic advisor role within the company, effective 1 April 2026.
Von Oehsen’s appointment follows the company’s announcement last month that it plans to make redundancies mainly in corporate and back-office functions.
“I joined this company in 2005 with the desire to learn from the brightest, most strategic and accomplished leaders I had encountered during my prior management consulting career,” Von Oehsen said.
“My sincere gratitude goes to our leaders for their engagement, support and empowerment of me and my team. I look forward to continuing to work alongside them to chart the Company’s course for success for decades to come.”
In his new role, Von Oehsen will support the firm’s senior leaders: Wayne E Chaplin, president and CEO; David Chaplin, executive vice-president and chief growth and strategy officer; and Lee F Hager, president of internal operations in the office of the president.
Von Oehsen will advise leaders on strategic growth initiatives and promote and integrate disciplines for strategic talent development.
CEO Chaplin commented: “Over the past 20-plus years, Stephen’s strategic expertise has been instrumental in guiding our leadership team through periods of transformative change and substantial growth.
“His insightful counsel enabled us to expand into new markets, forge stronger partnerships with suppliers, and elevate our customer service standards. Stephen was also a key figure in our merger with Glazer’s, a move that opened the door to dozens of additional US markets and resulted in significant revenue growth in the years that followed.
“I look forward to working with Stephen in this new capacity as we continue to transform our business for the future.”
David added that Von Oehsen’s team has played a crucial role in shaping the company’s identity, purpose, vision, and strategy.
He explained: “Through building a strong team of professionals who deliver impactful results and an enterprise programme management office to track these results, the strategy team continually elevated its value to the Company under Stephen’s leadership.”
Hager also praised Von Oehsen: “The fact that 40 current team members and OSM alumni remain active at the company today speaks to the breadth of his tremendous impact on talent and culture.”
Last year, Zachary Poelma, senior vice-president of commercial intelligence at Southern Glazer’s, sat down with The Spirits Business Podcast to discuss the US spirits industry.
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