General Sales Manager - Spirits

Johnson Brothers•Irving, TX

3d•Onsite

About The Position

Johnson Brothers, a leading family-owned distributor of wine, spirits, and beer since 1953, is seeking an experienced executive to lead its growth phase. The General Sales Manager will be responsible for driving holistic business performance, spearheading strategic sales leadership, and cultivating robust supplier partnerships. This role involves shaping market strategy and execution to ensure long-term growth, profitability, and organizational excellence. The individual will lead cross-functional business units, including sales, supplier relations, trade development, finance, and operations, to elevate commercial outcomes while fostering a high-performance, inclusive culture. This position is based in Dallas, TX, with travel to other locations as needed.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, or a related field (MBA strongly preferred).
12+ years of progressive commercial leadership experience, with demonstrated success leading multi-channel sales teams, owning a full P&L, and delivering complex revenue strategies.
Proven track record of driving growth in both franchise and non-franchise markets, across control and open states.
Deep experience managing national or high-priority supplier portfolios, including strategic alignment, negotiation, and performance management.
Background in both supplier and distributor environments, with the ability to navigate joint planning and execution complexities.
Demonstrated success leading business transformation efforts and scaling best practices across regions and functional silos.
Strong financial acumen, including pricing strategy, trade investment ROI, and cost-to-serve analysis.
Strategic Agility: Synthesizes insights to shape proactive strategies in dynamic market conditions.
Influential Communication: Inspires confidence and mobilizes internal and external stakeholders around a unified vision.
Customer & Supplier Centricity: Balances commercial priorities with a sharp understanding of customer and supplier motivations.
Results-Driven Execution: Sets bold goals and builds disciplined plans to deliver results with urgency and precision.
Inclusive & Courageous Leadership: Models a growth mindset, seeks diverse perspectives, and fosters psychological safety.

Responsibilities

Own the end-to-end P&L, with full accountability for top-line revenue growth, bottom-line profitability, and operational leverage across the branch or regional market.
Translate enterprise strategy into actionable regional growth plans with measurable KPIs across all commercial teams (sales, marketing, trade, analytics).
Drive breakthrough growth in both volume and value, leveraging pricing strategy, mix management, and whitespace market development.
Lead a high-performing, multi-tiered sales organization across all channels (on-premise, off-premise, national accounts, independents).
Define and execute dynamic sales strategies to expand market share, penetrate underdeveloped segments, and deliver sustainable year-over-year growth.
Implement data-driven sales planning, forecasting, and territory management aligned with route-to-market optimization.
Serve as the executive point of contact for key supplier partners—national, strategic, and emerging—building long-term, mutually profitable relationships.
Negotiate and operationalize Annual Operating Plans (AOPs) and Joint Business Plans (JBPs) to drive portfolio activation, innovation launches, and brand acceleration.
Establish and govern supplier KPIs, sales targets, promotional investment returns, and distribution goals to deliver win-win outcomes.
Partner with regional operations and finance leaders to ensure seamless execution across delivery, logistics, demand planning, inventory, and trade spending.
Lead monthly Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) reviews to align forecasts, inventory levels, and service performance with revenue goals.
Monitor branch-level operating expenses, AR, and working capital targets, collaborating on corrective actions as needed.
Build and develop a diverse, high-performing leadership bench.
Cultivate an inclusive culture rooted in accountability, innovation, and professional growth.
Inspire through vision and clarity of purpose—coaching and mentoring leaders at all levels to drive business impact and team engagement.
Foster a continuous improvement mindset by encouraging experimentation, agile learning, and change leadership.