Santa Maria, CA – The Thornhill Companies announces the appointment of two key team members, Philip Pyrce as Director of Marketing and Steven Howard as Southeast Regional Sales Manager, as part of the company’s strategic growth plan over the next three years.
“As a family owned and operated business involved in agriculture and the wine business for multiple generations, having the right support has been a tremendous part of our success,” says Nicholas Miller, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Our vision is to continue to build upon our business and grow substantially over the next three years and, in order to do so, it’s more imperative than ever to ensure we have the very best people in key strategic roles. We couldn’t be more pleased to bring Pyrce and Howard on board to help us achieve this.”
Phil Pyrce brings over 20 years of marketing experience to Thornhill. After receiving an MBA from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Phil began his marketing career in the CPG space with Unilever in Chicago. Phil first became passionate about wine during a motorcycle trip through Burgundy and has since has held senior marketing roles with Terlato, where he oversaw the entire domestic portfolio, Treasury, helping Chateau St. Jean to grow past 600K cases, and Guarachi Wine Partners, where he introduced tenshen, Black Ink and other innovative wines. “Phil is a leading industry executive with a proven track record of success,” shares Miller. “His level of experience and passion for the wine business are essential elements in our overall growth plan and he will no doubt be a key player in the future success of The Thornhill Companies.”
Steve Howard brings over 20 years of sales experience to Thornhill. After serving in the United States Coast Guard and graduating from Indiana Wesleyan University, Steve held developmental roles with Monarch Beverage and Snapple Iced Tea, where he successfully led the midwest sales division and grew sales from 88,000 cases to over 2 million. Steve was appointed National Sales Director for Zonin where he started the “Moscato Craze” in the U.S. market, partnering with America’s largest Italian restaurant chain to catapult Moscato to new levels of popularity. Most recently, Steve worked with the Terravant company, overseeing new business strategy and successfully cultivating strategic partnerships with several well-known National Accounts. “Steve is a results-oriented leader and skilled salesperson,” shares Miller. “His experience, coupled with his incredibly strong industry relationships, are crucial for further developing our business in National Accounts and we trust that he’ll be a key asset to our team.”
The Thornhill Companies is the industry-leading umbrella brand of one of California’s premier winegrowing families, the Miller Family, who have been farming California’s Central Coast for five generations. The Thornhill Companies includes the prestigious Bien Nacido Estate vineyards and wines, J. Wilkes, Ballard Lane, Smashberry and Barrel Burner wines, French Camp vineyard in Paso Robles and custom crush facilities Central Coast Wine Services and Paso Robles Wine Services.
