Joseph Fisch, Jr. '71

Joseph Fisch, Founder, President & Chief Executive Officer of United States Beverage, has over forty years of experience in the premium alcoholic beverage industry. After graduating from BGSU in 1971, Fisch began his business career in the Management Trainee Program at Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Inc., the world-wide leader in wine and spirits sales based in New York City.

During his twenty-five year career with Joseph E. Seagram & Sons, Fisch held various senior executive positions within Seagram's premium spirits and beverage divisions. Early in his career he became the company’s youngest Regional Vice President at the age of thirty, managing the Chicago-based Central Division of Seagram’s specialty import brands company: The General Wine & Spirits Company. Three years later, Fisch was elevated to the Seagram Corporation’s largest spirit unit, The Seagram Distillers Company, managing its most profitable Eastern Division based in New York.

In 1989, Fisch was promoted to Senior Vice President Central Division based in Chicago of the newly created House of Seagram, which managed the corporation’s entire spirits portfolio. In this position, Fisch developed and oversaw aggressive growth and increased market share within the industry. In 1991 he returned to New York to oversee the House of Seagram’s most profitable spirits unit, the Atlantic-Pacific region.

In 1993, Fisch was appointed to the title of President of the Seagram Beverage Company. During his tenure, he created and initiated a strategic plan to expand the company into the high-end craft and imported beer sectors, while at the same time, recreating the company’s flagship Seagram Cooler portfolio of brands.

Fisch redefined Seagram’s corporate role within alcoholic beverages and the company’s competitive set. With the importation of Grolsch from Holland, (one of the leading Dutch beers nationally), and creating a joint venture with the Boston Beer Company (the maker of Samuel Adams), Fisch directed Seagram’s entry into the beer business.

Published: 2013