OREANDA-NEWS. Stoli Group USA, the North American subsidiary of SPI Group and producer of Stolichnaya® Premium vodka, announces the appointment of three individuals to the leadership team: Michael Misiorski as CFO/Senior Vice President of Finance; Lori Tieszen as Senior Vice President of Marketing for U.S. operations; and Brad Gietter as Regional Vice President of Sales for the West. These appointments follow the decision by SPI Group to establish Stoli Group USA to manage its premium spirits portfolio directly throughout the U.S. and Canada, beginning January 2014.

“We are excited for this group of extraordinary leaders to join our new company,” said John Esposito, President of Stoli Group USA. “Having had the privilege of working with all three in the past, I know that they have exceptional leadership skills and the values that will help Stoli Group USA build a strong company and meet the vision we have for the future. All three have extensive experience working with our distributors and building some of the best brands in the world. I am confident that together with our distributor partners, we will bring Stoli to the leadership position it deserves.

Michael Misiorski will be responsible for leading all financial activities for Stoli Group USA out of the New York office. With more than 25 years of financial leadership experience in the drinks industry, Misiorski joins Stoli Group USA from Bacardi where he was formerly CFO/SVP of Finance for North America. He previously worked with Seagram's and Absolut. Misiorski holds a BS in Finance and Accounting from the University of Arizona and an MBA from the University of Miami.

Lori Tieszen will be responsible for leading all marketing activities for Stoli Group USA out of the New York office. Tieszen has more than 25 years of marketing experience in the drinks industry and brings valuable insight and understanding to the new company as it develops its core team. She joins Stoli Group USA from Wines of Chile USA where she was most recently Executive Director. In addition, Tieszen has worked with many iconic brands including J&B and Hennessy and has held senior marketing roles with Finlandia Vodka and Schieffelin & Somerset, now known as Moet Hennessy USA.

Brad Gietter will be responsible for leading Stoli Group USA's West Regional Sales team and will work closely with distributors to drive brand growth across all channels. Gietter has more than 25 years of marketing and sales experience in the consumer beverage industry with companies including Seagram, Diageo, Moet Hennessy and Tanteo Spirits. He has a successful track record of working with distributors and leading both sales strategy and execution to build brands.