Home Industry News Releases Don Sebastiani & Sons Names Industry Legend Tom Hawkins Chief Operating Officer

Don Sebastiani & Sons Names Industry Legend Tom Hawkins Chief Operating Officer

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Omar Percich named Chief Financial Officer for the family company

Sonoma, California — Don Sebastiani & Sons, the Sonoma-based, family-owned producer of innovative wine and food products, today announced exciting changes to its senior leadership team. Tom Hawkins is the company’s new Chief Operating Officer.

Tom Hawkins joined Don Sebastiani & Sons (DSS) in 2009 as Vice President of Finance. In short order, his areas of responsibility expanded to include all operational aspects of the company, including finance, operations, winemaking, marketing, human resources, and information technology. During his tenure, Hawkins spearheaded installation of the company’s advanced ERP systems; developed relationships with growers and winemakers in Chile to supply the company’s Smoking Loon and Pepperwood Grove wines; successfully negotiated new, beneficial banking relationships; implemented companywide cost-savings programs; orchestrated the move of personnel at our ABC-licensed headquarters and marketing offices into one building; challenged managers and achieved improved efficiencies in production and winemaking; increased the average case cost across all brands; and transitioned our distribution network in multiple states to better represent our brands in the marketplace, among other accomplishments. Hawkins was promoted to Chief Financial Officer in 2012 and, just two years later, was named “Winery CFO of the Year” by the North Bay Business Journal. Later that same year, he was named General Manager of the company.

In tandem with Hawkins’ promotion to the newly-created COO role, the company announced Omar Percich as its new Chief Financial Officer. . Percich, who joined DSS March 13, formerly served for seven years as controller and CFO at Foley Family Wines. Earlier in his career, Percich was Controller at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. In his new role, Percich will oversee all aspects of finance, accounting, compliance, customer service, and IT services. He was named “Winery CFO of the Year” in 2015, the year after Hawkins won the award.

“We are elated to expand our leadership team with two extraordinarily talented executives. We are stockpiling Winery CFO of the Year winners,” said Donny Sebastiani, CEO of Don Sebastiani & Sons and a member of the family’s fourth generation of winemakers. “Both Tom and Omar are the kind of proven leaders who will help guide our company to its next level of growth.”
The new appointments come at a critical time in the company’s development as it broadens its wine portfolio and expands into complementary snack, beverage, and spirits categories. In addition to its 14 wine brands, Don Sebastiani & Sons has recently introduced three new product lines, including premium, seasoned nuts; organic, flavored sparkling water; and three 100% Blue Weber agave Tequilas grown and hand-made in Jalisco, Mexico.

About Don Sebastiani & Sons:

Don Sebastiani & Sons is a family-owned company rooted in the Sonoma Valley, with a winery in the Napa Valley. Since 1904, the family’s adventures have often included making and marketing products complementary to wine, and today, products range from wine to water and tequila, to pistachios, almonds, and cashews, all sourced from premier growing regions throughout the world–natural, healthy beverages and foods to complement life’s special occasions and celebrations with family and friends. The company was recently named one of the Best Places to Work by the North Bay Business Journal for the fourth consecutive year.

Today, fourth-generation proprietor Donny Sebastiani is expanding his family’s vision to include other aspects of the “Mediterranean Diet” to create a “Happy Hour At Home”, with such products as:

  • Small-lot, single-vineyard wines from Sonoma. Including Chardonnay grown on Donny Sebastiani’s home ranch.
  • Premium, seasoned almonds, pistachios and cashews called U Gottabee Nutz.
  • Organic flavored sparkling water: AquaJava, AquaKola and AquaMocha.
  • Craft 100% Blue Weber agave Tequilas grown and hand-made in Jalisco, Mexico: Contigo Plata, El Fumador Reposado, and El Macho Anejo.

For more information about the company, visit http://donsebastianiandsons.com.

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