Meet Our Leaders

JASON SHARTZER
VICE PRESIDENT OF CUSTOMER DEVELOPMENT

What is your background and career path at Heidelberg?
I joined Heidelberg in 2014 as the General Sales Manager in Cincinnati. I took over as Vice President of Customer Development in January of 2019. Before coming on board at Heidelberg I was employed by the E&J Gallo Winery as the Field Marketing Manager in Ohio calling on Heidelberg Distributing. I also worked for Monarch Beverage in Indianapolis for 10 years before that (three years as a sales professional, three years as a district manager and four years as an area manager covering all independent accounts in the State of Ohio).

What are your job responsibilities and priorities?
In my current role I am responsible for our team of Customer Development Managers (both national and regional chains) and the Sales Analytical team for Wine, Low Proof Spirits and Non-alcohol Beverages. We have 15 Customer Development Managers and six Sales Analysts. Our priority is and will always be “To Be Our Customers’ #1 Choice.”

Any recent accomplishments or notable projects from you/your team?
Securing the Speedway “Category Captainship.”

Who do you interact with on a regular basis – suppliers, retailers, management, HDC “wheel” teams?
I am interacting daily with all of the above! I am in contact with our retail customers with our CDM’s. I interact with our suppliers and their customer development teams to help execute and calibrate on national programs. I am in constant contact with our Heidelberg VP’s of Sales and the Executive team to ensure all priorities are aligned. I also interact with our operations and admin teams including warehouse, purchasing and pricing to ensure that our customer needs are being met.

What alcohol beverage trends are you seeing?
The biggest and easiest answer here would be the Hard Seltzer trend. In my world I think the biggest trend is the emergence of e-commerce and how our customers and suppliers are trying to figure out this new platform to deliver product to the end consumer. The distributor’s role and value in this whole process is undefined.

How has the business and/or company changed since you joined Heidelberg?
I think the biggest changes to Heidelberg that I have seen in the last five years is the company’s ability to embrace change. Our industry is moving at a faster pace than ever before. New items and innovation are contributing to most of the growth in the wine industry every year. Our ability to capitalize and maximize these trends is what sets us apart from our competition.

How do you like to spend time when you’re away from work?
I enjoy spending time with my wife Jamie and daughters Maggie (11), Anna (9) and Ellie (7).