Sierra Nevada Brewing company has hired Ellie Preslar as its new vice president of sales.
Preslar officially joined the Chico, California-headquartered craft brewery this week after a 17-year career with CPG giant Procter & Gamble (P&G). Preslar fills the role left open in May by the departure of Nick Lundquist, who departed the company after 19 years to become chief sales officer for hard kombucha brand Flying Embers.
During her stint at P&G, Preslar led the company’s U.S. Baby Care Division as VP of sales. In that position, she was charged with driving the sales and marketing strategy for the U.S. Pampers and Luvs brands.
“Ellie was an exceptional candidate, combining a great analytical framework with outstanding interpersonal skills,” Sierra Nevada chief commercial officer Joe Whitney said in a press release. “She brings an impressive track record of building teams to drive performance, and creating win-win solutions with partners. We think she will lead our sales team to a whole new level.”
For her part, Preslar said she has “admired” the Sierra Nevada brand as a consumer and has been “impressed by every individual I’ve met through the hiring process.”
“I’m energized by the future potential and portfolio of the brand and looking forward to working together with our partners,” she said in the release.
During her time at P&G, Preslar led the company’s Dollar General Health and Beauty team, and also worked on brands such as Tide and Downy.
Preslar serves as a member of the Network of Executive Women and is a past chair of the Griffiths Leadership Society for Women and a co-leader of P&G’s Sales Women’s Network. Preslar also received P&G’s Inspirational Leadership Award for Diversity & Inclusion in 2020.
Year-to-date through October 31, off-premise dollar sales of Sierra Nevada’s portfolio have declined -1.3%, to nearly $270.9 million. Sierra Nevada holds two of the top five best selling craft beer brands in the off-premise channel, with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (-11.4% to $85.1 million) and Hazy Little Thing (+10.5% to nearly $87.8 million). The company’s Big Little Thing imperial IPA, which was introduced earlier this year, cracked the top 30 best-selling craft brands with more than $16 million in sales.