Charles Merinoff
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Charles Merinoff is the chairman and chief executive officer of The Charmer Sunbelt Group (CSG). Following his graduation from the University of Wisconsin in 1980, Charles joined the family’s business, working in various positions in operations, purchasing and sales. In 1991, Charles was named president of Charmer Industries, the family’s Metro New York business.

In 1994, the family acquired Sunbelt Beverage Corporation, then operating distributorships in various Eastern states. Sunbelt continued to expand through acquisitions and partnerships in various markets, and in 1997 the wholesale companies in which the family had an interest became known as The Charmer Sunbelt Group. In 2011, he was named chairman of the board of Sunbelt Holding Inc.
 
Charles devotes a significant amount of time and resources to charitable organizations. Charles has been a member of the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation since 1999, and is currently its treasurer and an active member of its board of directors. He also sits on the board of trustees of the Culinary Institute of America and is on the board of directors of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, and in 2010 was elected to the board of trustees of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health Systems and the executive committee of Lenox Hill Hospital. He has been honored over the years by the Boys Town of Italy, the Boy Scouts of America and the UJA-Federation of New York. Charles spearheads the annual Wine and Wishes tasting and auction, which has raised over $3 million for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Metro New York. Charles is currently senior vice president of the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers Association of America (WSWA), the national trade association for wholesalers in the wine and spirits industry.

Ray Herrmann
Chairman Emeritus

Ray Herrmann is chairman emeritus of The Charmer Sunbelt Group. His career, which spans more than five decades, is one of the most distinguished in the beverage alcohol industry today. Ray’s family ties to the beverage alcohol industry extend through three generations, beginning with his grandfather, who settled in Louisville, Kentucky, in the late 1800s and founded a wine and spirit importing company. This establishment was followed by the creation of the Herrmann Brothers Distillery in Bardstown in 1880.

CSG was founded in 1994 by the merger of Sunbelt Beverage Corporation, of which Ray was chairman and CEO, with Charmer Industries, led at that time by Herman Merinoff. CSG was co-chaired by both gentlemen until Mr. Merinoff’s death in 2006. Ray founded Sunbelt Beverage Corporation in April 1988 from a group of wholesale houses, known as McKesson Wine and Spirits Co. He was chairman and CEO of Sunbelt for its first three years, and then remained as chairman. 

Prior to founding Sunbelt, Ray enjoyed a 13-year career with McKesson Corporation, who first recruited him in 1973 as a director of the corporation and president of the wine and spirits group. He was executive vice president, general manager, and a director with Schieffelin and Company and held a progression of posts at National Distillers Products Company. He began his career in the beverage industry as a salesman with two New York wholesale distributors after the end of World War II, where he served in the United States Army, 191 Field Artillery Group in the South Pacific Theatre (New Guinea and Philippine campaigns) from 1943 to 1946.

Ray served as director and executive committee member of the National Association of Beverage Importers from 1973 to 1985. During this time he also served as chairman of the executive committee for two years and chairman of the association for two years. He was a director and member of the executive committee of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) from 1973 to 1986.

Ray’s passion for the beverage alcohol business and his advocacy for responsible marketing of its products have contributed greatly to the acceptance of spirit and wine companies among mainstream American business today. He has proudly worked for and with three great beverage companies during his career and believes that he has saved the best for last in The Charmer Sunbelt Group.

Ray was educated at Princeton University and received a bachelor’s degree in 1942.

Steven M. Drucker
 
Steven Drucker has been an integral member of the family’s business since 1978. Shortly after joining the business, Steve was appointed president of Service Universal Liquor Co., the company’s upstate New York operations.   Steve spent the next 10 years at the helm of Service Universal Distributors, overseeing its dramatic growth. In 2000, he was appointed president and COO of Charmer Industries, the family’s Metro New York business. In 2007, Steve joined the senior management team of CSG, serving on various committees focused on the company’s strategic growth initiatives. Steve serves as a director on the board of directors of Sunbelt Holding Inc., as well as other affiliated CSG entities.

Steve graduated from St. Paul’s Preparatory School, cum laude, in 1971. He then attended Tulane University, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. He graduated from Tulane University both cum laude and with membership in Phi Beta Kappa. Steve obtained his juris doctorate in 1978 from Hofstra University Law School. 

Steve has been actively involved in supporting the Lawrenceville School in Princeton, New Jersey, as well as the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University.

Greg Baird
Chief Operating Officer

Greg Baird is the chief operating officer for The Charmer Sunbelt Group, responsible for establishing and executing long-range goals and strategies across our multi-state operations. In his role, Greg works closely with the CEO, board of directors and the executive management team to achieve our vision of being distributor of choice. 

Greg joined the CSG corporate team from his position as president of Reliable Churchill LLP, Maryland’s largest distributor for wines and spirits and a member of the Charmer Sunbelt family. Greg was named president of Reliable Churchill in 1999, at the time when the company was formed through a joint venture of Churchill Distributors and Reliable Liquors. Prior to the joint venture, Greg was vice president of sales at Churchill Distributors. He began his career at EJ Gallo, where during the course of a 10-year period he held a variety of roles, including eastern regional manager of recruiting and training.

Greg graduated from the University of Virginia in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science in commerce and dual concentrations in marketing and management.

Gene Luciana
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer
 
Gene Luciana is executive vice president, chief financial officer and chief operations officer of The Charmer Sunbelt Group, where he oversees the Shared Services, Operations, Logistics, IT, Risk Management, and Finance divisions. He also serves as a member of the Sunbelt board. Gene joined CSG in 1992 as executive vice president and CFO.

Prior to joining CSG, Gene spent a decade at Chase Packaging Corporation, serving as executive vice president, finance treasurer and board member.  During his early career he also held positions at Rossville Industries and Deloitte & Touche.

Gene is a certified public accountant with a Bachelor of Science in finance from Franciscan University.

Ann Giambusso
Executive Vice President, Human Resources

Ann Giambusso is the executive vice president, human resources, for The Charmer Sunbelt Group, a position she has held since 2002. Ann brings to CSG a strong legal background and in-depth experience in the fields of human resources and employment law, including outstanding negotiation skills and expertise in employment, labor, compensation, and benefits. 
 
Prior to joining CSG, Ann served as senior human resources executive for a U.S. division of Vivendi Universal, responsible for 7,000 employees, and led a team of 10 human resource professionals. She has developed and implemented a broad range of HR policies and programs, such as talent development, rewards and recognition, and career transition, as well as retention, career support and resourcing programs. During her 28-plus-year career, Ann has held positions at companies that have included Universal Studios in Los Angeles and Joseph E. Seagram & Sons Inc., holding various positions in their Human Resources and Legal departments.

Ann has a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from New York University, where she also earned her Juris Doctor degree. In addition, she attended the Columbia School of Business in New York. Ms. Giambusso is a member of the New York Bar and was the recipient of the 1994 YWCA’s Salute to Women Achievers Award.

Andrew Crisses
Executive Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Affairs

Arlyn Miller
Vice President, General Counsel

Arlyn B. Miller leads the corporate legal department as vice president, general counsel, of The Charmer Sunbelt Group. In this role, she is responsible for all CSG legal matters. Arlyn also serves on the company’s Executive Committee, counseling senior management on strategic initiatives. As a 16-year industry veteran who has practiced law for over 20 years, Arlyn is integral in the development and execution of the company’s growth strategy. 

Arlyn began practicing law in 1989 at Shearman & Sterling. In 1992, she joined Baer Marks & Upham, LLP, where she developed an active securities law practice and gained extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions. While at Baer Marks, Arlyn represented the Merinoff family in its 1994 acquisition of Sunbelt and was recruited to join CSG in 1998.
 
Arlyn has a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Binghamton University and a juris doctorate from Albany Law School, where she graduated cum laude. Arlyn is a founding director on the board of the Newark Police Foundation, which enhances the effectiveness of the Newark Police Department by raising funds in support of crime-fighting programs.

Kristen Bareuther
Vice President of Corporate Development

Kristen Bareuther is the vice president of corporate development for The Charmer Sunbelt Group (CSG). In this capacity, Kristen leads profit-enhancing initiatives across the multi-state enterprise, and advises the executive team on corporate organizational designs and processes that facilitate growth.

Kristen started her career with The Charmer Sunbelt Group in 2001 as a strategic marketing consultant to the CEO, focused on challenging the organization’s corporate identity in a consolidating landscape. Her role evolved in 2002 as she worked with the executive team in rolling out a new corporate identity and developing both a corporate marketing and supplier acquisition strategy. In 2005, she participated in an executive development program at Premier Beverage in Florida in which she gained management experience at the field level and created and led a sales analysis training program. Upon her return to CSG’s corporate office, she led two major business RFPs, the development of a comprehensive CSG long-term strategy, and implemented tools and processes across CSG markets to deliver profit objectives.

Kristen is a graduate of the University of California, where she received both a Bachelor of Arts in political science/international relations and an master's in business administration from the Anderson School at UCLA.

Prior to joining the spirit and wine industry, Kristen managed cross-functional teams for two marquee accounts as an account executive at Publicis & Hal Riney.

Today, Kristen lives in New York City and serves as the board president of her Manhattan co-op.