- Chris O'Connor, President
- Slainte Wines is the culmination of a dream and more than twenty years of experience in the wine industry. Chris' path was set over two decades ago when he served as a sommelier in the Hamptons on Long Island.That experience led to a position with E&J Gallo Winery where he deepened his knowledge, sales skills, and passion for the wine industry. Seven years at Gallo established Chris as a notable cruise line sales expert, leading to an invitation to join Robert Mondavi as national duty free accounts manager. His ten years with Mondavi included unprecedented back-to-back Salesmen of the Year awards, innovative sales promotions, and a growing reputation for the highest standard of customer service and satisfaction. Chris founded Slainte Wines in 2004. Since then the company has grown to include six employees and is regarded as one of the premier wine brokerages for the duty-free and cruise line industries.
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- Zina O'Connor, Chief Operating Officer
- Zina O’Connor has over fifteen years of management and logistics experience. Prior to moving to the United States, Zina attended one of Brazil’s most highly regarded business universities, the State University of Ponta Grossa, Parana. She moved to the US in 1991 where her education and fluency with four languages led to immediate employment with a fledgling company serving cruise line crew members. Under her guidance, the new company grew to a multi-unit corporation and was sold in 1997. Her managerial and start-up experience landed her a position with Saratoga Telecom as Corporate Vice President overseeing logistics, marketing and web project management. During this time Zina expanded her business degree to include a specialization in international marketing at the University of Phoenix. Zina now serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Slainte Wines supporting global operations and logistics. When not working she dotes over her son Shawn and two dogs, Opus and Griffin.
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- Brian Storrs, Director of Wine
- Brian has twenty years of experience working for wineries around the world. He began his career as an assistant to the winemaker at Meridian Vineyards, a job that provided him with a hands-on appreciation for wine production. Brian then moved from wine making to a position in marketing with Meridian's parent company, Beringer Wine Estates, dealing with compliance, logistics and shipping issues nationwide. He spent sixteen years in a variety of national management roles at companies including Robert Mondavi, Brown-Forman,Wild Horse Winery & Vineyards, and served as President of Niner Wine Estates of Paso Robles. Brian's expertise led him to his dream - the establishment of his own consulting company, Pump Over, Inc. He brings his experience with sales, marketing, and distribution, along with his national account relationships, to the Slainte Wines team.
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- Rebecca Berhow, Financial / Logistics Manager
- Rebecca has had over 15 years experience in customer service and over 8 in
Managerial. She has been with Slainte Wines full time for over 2 years and part time for 4 years. With a Bachelor in Managerial Studies from Winthrop University, she is a mother of one and is a Florida native.
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- Edward Coddington, IT
- Ed has been involved with computers since grade school. Having worked for IDN Telecom, in the cell phone industry then moving to Acclaim Entertainment® in the video game industry finally settling at Specialty Data Corporation where he was designing and deploying what was at the time the largest private Internet Service Provider on Long Island NY. Ed has over 14 years of practical working experience in all aspects of network administration, computer programming and engineering.
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- Paul McMan, Account Rep
- Paul joined the Slainte team in December 2007 as an Account Manager following his relocation from Vail, Colorado. Paul brings with him 6 years of sales and account managment experience. His background includes sales, customer relations and human resources within the ski resort and software industries, including exposure to the PEO industry from the client’s perspective.
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