jock busser

co-founder

About

A seasoned professional with Executive Sales and General Management experience who grows and builds start-up and fast growth companies and teams. My most recent experience is in building Fine Wine and Craft Spirits Brands, Importers, and Distributors. Previous experience included starting and building Healthcare Technology companies from idea to revenue. Designing and executing business plans and sales strategies that drive growth is my main focus. My success comes from strong teams. I have focused on maximizing an individual's strengths to create a better work environment, a more efficient team, and better Sales. With a major in Philosophy, a key has been identifying and executing non-traditional solutions to problems and carrying solutions across industries and problems.

Country

united states

City

philadelphia

Industry

wine and spirits

Skill

wine tasting, alcoholic beverages, wine, wineries, beverage industry, food pairing, food and beverage, beer, food, marketing strategy, sales management, sales, fmcg, marketing, brand management, grocery, key account development, wine and spirits industry, pricing strategy, retail, distributors, winemaking, market planning, brand development, distributed team management, national accounts, trade marketing, champagne, pricing, menu development, merchandising, restaurants, key account management, p&l management, restaurant management, craft beer, wholesale, international marketing, customer insight, consumer products, income statement, viticulture, customer relations, distribution strategies, fast moving consumer goods, account management

Experience

national sales manager

chateau montelena

2018-7 - Present · 8 yrs 3 mos

co-founder

kite & key

2017-11 - Present · 8 yrs 11 mos

At Kite & Key we help Fine Wine & Craft Spirits companies succeed. We have worked with domestic wineries to help them with turnaround strategies, Go-to-Market strategies, Distributor Management training, market expansion, and brand expansion. We are also working with a new American vermouth producer to create a new line of products in the expanding digestif and aperitif markets.

general manager, vts

vintus

2014-6 - 2016-2 · 1 yr 9 mos

Built a new distributor from scratch with an Import partner (VINTUS) and a Distributor partner (M Touton). From beginning to first case shipped was 6 weeks. We built a team from scratch and developed innovative methods to partner with existing distributor sales team to reach the broad market while going deep in top accounts. Company was profitable and paid off all startup casts within the first 5 months returning profit to the investors. For our first full calendar and fiscal year, we grew our business while returning a profit. Growth in year-over-year sales was over 27%.

national vice president, mundovino

the winebow group

2016-7 - 2018-1 · 1 yr 7 mos

The Winebow Group comprises national importer and distribution houses that offer comprehensive portfolios of fine wine, spirits, and sake from around the world. As the National VIce President of Sales for MundoVino, I am responsible for strategically building and managing the sales team to drive sales of our larger brands such as Catena, Root:1, Clean Slate, and Cousino-Macul while simultaneously building our mid-sized and smaller brands. My first responsibility was to reorganize the Sales Team to take advantage of our talent and deliver on our promise to our Supplier Partners. Additionally I coordinate sales with The Winebow Group's on-premise National Accounts and Strategic Retail teams to deliver sales across all channels. Examples of recent successes include the launch of the Tarapac brand selling over 4,500cs in the first 9 months. Additionally, we utilized our new team structure to launch FAT bastard Bloody Red and turn a long-term decline into a double-digit growth brand.

product manager

amient

2000-1 - 2001-1 · 1 yr 1 mo

director, business development

velos

1997-1 - 1999-1 · 2 yrs 1 mo

lab rat

case western reserve university

1992-2 - 1997-6 · 5 yrs 5 mos

Basic Neuroscience Research in the Alzheimer's Research Lab

national manager, southern us

vintus

2010-11 - 2014-6 · 3 yrs 8 mos

Built National Sales structure to grow company. Ran over 55% of the country and grew territory 40% in 3 years launching new brands, hiring a new team, consolidating and building out distributor network, and instituting better management protocols for team. Focus was on driving sales with an eye to profitability by keeping costs down without hurting sales.

midwest regional manager

kobrand corporation

2006-2 - 2009-1 · 3 yrs

Managed 4 states with Open states (wine), Control state (spirits), RIP state (wine), Case 1 states, and Retailer-as-Wholesaler for on-premise (wine and spirits). Grew business over 8% each year and outpaced the national growth.

on-premise sales manager, metro new york

kobrand corporation

2003-6 - 2006-2 · 2 yrs 9 mos

Managing 9 people, I ran the on-premise salesforce and distributor for Kobrand throughout Metro New York. We grew on-premise sales by 10+% each year, outpacing the broader market.

on-premise sales representative

kobrand corporation

2001-8 - 2003-6 · 1 yr 11 mos

Grew high-profile territory of Zagat 23+ restaurants in Manhattan over 25%.

south central division sales manager

vintus

2009-1 - 2010-11 · 1 yr 11 mos

Built new territory and consolidated distributor network while growing business 80% in 2 years by launching brands and building on existing business. Maximized efficiency at the distributor level driving both sales and profitability.