Breakthru Beverage promotes South Carolina leader to region president

Breakthru Beverage, a beverage wholesaler for spirits, wine, beer and non-alcoholic brands, has promoted its previous executive vice president of Breakthru South Carolina to lead as East region president.  

Barry Thompson will adopt oversight of Maryland, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Florida, in addition to South Carolina.  

“We’re proud to recognize and promote a proven leader within our organization,” Julian Burzynski, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Breakthru Beverage Group, said in the release. “Barry combines strong commercial and general manager experience with a track record for developing high-performing teams, building trusted partnerships and creating a winning culture. As we continue to drive a bigger, stronger, bolder Breakthru, I am confident that he is well-positioned to lead our East Region to even greater success.” 

With more than 25 years of experience in the beverage alcohol industry, Thompson focuses on customer-focused and relationship-driven leadership, according to the release. Prior to Breakthru, he held a leadership role at Diageo and Charmer Sunbelt, as well as beginning his career at PepsiCo.  

In his previous South Carolina role, Thompson led the company’s year-over-year growth while maintaining customer and supplier relationships. In the new role, his focus will be set on accelerating performance and delivering execution excellence,  

“I am excited to step into this role and work with the exceptional teams we have in place across the entire East Region,” Thompson said. “Breakthru has tremendous momentum, talented people and a focused growth strategy that I’m energized to support and lead in the region. I look forward to working closely with our customers, suppliers and partners to further build their brands and growth ambitions, while strengthening Breakthru’s position as an industry leader.”