W. Rockwell Wirtz
President

W. Rockwell Wirtz was named Chairman of Wirtz Corporation in 2007. In this role, he oversees operations of Wirtz Beverage Group, one of the largest beverage alcohol wholesalers in the country with interests in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nevada and Wisconsin. Headquartered in Chicago, the company employs more than 3,000 professionals nationally and has more than $1.5 billion in annual sales.

Mr. Wirtz’s role as Chairman of Wirtz Corporation extends to a vast array of businesses including Wirtz Realty and Wirtz Insurance. Today, Wirtz Corporation is one of the largest family-owned companies in the United States, boasting financial stability unrivaled by many.

Rocky also serves as Chairman of the Chicago Blackhawk Hockey Team. In 2010, under his leadership, the team became Stanley Cup Champions for the first time in nearly 50 years.

Continuing his family’s commitment, Mr. Wirtz is involved with numerous civic and charitable organizations as well as being active in fundraising endeavors. His commitment to Chicago Blackhawk Charities is unwavering; donating millions of dollars annually in support of civic and service programs.

Mr. Wirtz is the immediate past Chairman of the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, a trustee of Chicago’s Field Museum and a former trustee of Northwestern University.

Ed Callison
Senior Vice President

Ed Callison focuses on integration, innovation and best practices across sales, marketing, operations and logistics to ensure continued growth within Wirtz Beverage Group. In this capacity, Callison guides efforts to provide uniform route-to-market strategies for Wirtz Beverage affiliates throughout the country.

Callison has a long history in the industry, learning the ropes from his father at Callison Distributing.  Most recently, Callison served as president and general manager of Wirtz Beverage Illinois Spectrum Division, where he employed innovative business practices to strengthen the company’s position as Illinois’ premier distributor.

Callison serves on the Board of Directors of the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America and the Wine and Spirits Distributors of Illinois.

Danny Wirtz
Vice President, Marketing and Sales

Danny Wirtz drives innovation to bring new premium and luxury brands to the Wirtz Beverage portfolios throughout the country. He plays a leading role in the company’s supplier relations and in strategic initiatives to foster growth and innovation.  Using his national and international marketing experience, Wirtz also directs the company’s strategic marketing programs to become the preferred wholesaler in the company’s affiliate markets.

Wirtz has worked in a variety of positions for the company following marketing and brand building positions in New York and London. Additionally, he offers strategic insight and coordination of business strategies to the Wirtz Corporation family of companies.

Wirtz serves on the Rising Leaders’ Council for Christ the King Jesuit College Preparatory School and is an at-large board member of the Council for Leadership Development with the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America.

Glen Hoch
Vice President, Finance and Strategic Development

Glen Hoch works alongside the entire five-state group implementing a cohesive and aggressive strategy that is uniform to the Wirtz Beverage vision of long-term growth, unsurpassed supplier relations and increased market share.  He is integral to the data management, reporting and goal driven initiatives for the company.  Hoch also plays a leading role in supplier and line transitions.

Previously, he assisted in operations, sales, delivery, human resources, finance, and contract negotiations for Wirtz Beverage Illinois. Additionally, Hoch served as director of finance for the company.

 

Don Pydo
Vice President, Business Operations

 

Don Pydo manages the day-to-day functions of Wirtz Beverage Group identifying effective and efficient practices to ensure best-in-class service for customers and suppliers nationwide.  This includes oversight of I.T., Human Resources as well as facility, fleet and operations management.  Pydo also leads labor and external relations.

Pydo has extensive experience is sales and marketing and has held the positions of Executive Vice President of Operations where he provided synergy between internal sales and operations as well as Executive Vice President of Shared Services and V.P. Human Resources.

Pydo has served as President, Wines and Spirits Distributors of Illinois and is on the Board of Directors for the Wine and Spirits Distributors of America.

Mark Switaj
Vice President, Training and Development

Mark Switaj oversees both the strategy and implementation of Wirtz Beverage Group’s unified corporate training and leadership development initiatives across the company’s national operations. In addition to managing educational and brand training programs, Mark also implements best-practice techniques for each of the state distributorships.

Previously, Switaj worked as director of training and development at Wirtz Beverage Illinois. His knowledge of industry and market best practices comes from more than 25 years of corporate training experience.

Jennifer Gera
Director, Strategic Planning

 

Jennifer Gera works as director of strategic planning, building strong supplier alliances to find a best-fit marketing route for each supplier line and its products. During her tenure, Gera has played key roles on the company’s transitional leadership team, ensuring departments are best structured to serve the company’s customers and suppliers.

Tabatha Vece
Director, Human Resources

Tabatha Vece provides leadership in the development and integration of Wirtz Beverage Group’s personnel management and labor relations programs. Vece coordinates all aspects of human resources; implementing company-wide initiatives to ensure suppliers and customers receive the best and most efficient service in the industry.

LaKesha Selvey
Manager, Business Intelligence

LaKesha Selvey manages group-wide business analysis to draw actionable insights for all facets of the sales organization. A consumer packaged goods professional, Selvey brings experience across multiple categories and customers as well as consumer insights and category management focus to the corporate team.