Southern Glazer's Appoints Glendal Vandenbempt as Managing Director of New Gold Division

MIAMI & DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sep 10, 2026--

Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits (Southern Glazer’s) – the world’s preeminent total beverage distributor – today announced the appointment of Glendal Vandenbempt as Managing Director of the newly established Gold Division, effective October 5, 2026. In this role, he will lead the corporate Gold Division, a business unit of Southern Glazer's Beverage Company, providing support across New York and Colorado, while also overseeing the Anheuser-Busch portfolio in all markets where Southern Glazer’s represents Anheuser-Busch brands. Vandenbempt will report directly to Mark Chaplin, President, Commercial Sales.

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"We’re excited to welcome Glendal to our team and to see him step into this crucial role supporting the Anheuser-Busch portfolio in New York, Colorado and 17 other markets, where his leadership will be instrumental in advancing our partnership with Anheuser-Busch while supporting the broader Gold Division business across these key markets,” said Mark Chaplin, President, Commercial Sales, Southern Glazer’s. “He brings a strong track record of collaboration, customer focus, and results-driven leadership. I know he will be a tremendous resource for our teams and partners, and I look forward to working with him as we continue building on our success together.”

Vandenbempt brings more than 18 years of global experience in the consumer goods industry, spanning sales, operations, technology, finance, and more.

During his distinguished career at Anheuser-Busch InBev, he held several executive leadership roles across North America and Europe, most recently as Vice President Integrations within the Business and Wholesaler Development, U.S. team, where he led national strategic partnerships, commercial strategy, digital initiatives, and route to market transformation efforts. Previous roles included Vice President of Digital Sales and Operations U.S., Vice President of Technology Strategy & Deployment, North America, and Executive Director of On Premise (HORECA) for Belgium.

Throughout his career, he has driven digital transformation, commercial excellence, AI-powered analytics, and large-scale business operations, while also holding leadership positions on industry boards and advising technology startups focused on innovation in consumer-packaged goods.

About Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits

Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits is the preeminent total beverage distributor, building brands for moments that matter. Southern Glazer’s will adopt the Southern Glazer’s Beverage Company name companywide in 2027. The multi-generational, family-owned Company has operations in 47 U.S. markets and Canada, as well as brokerage operations through its Southern Glazer’s Travel Retail Sales & Export Division in the Caribbean, Central and South America. In 2026, Southern Glazer’s was recognized by Newsweek as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Culture, Belonging & Community. In 2025, Southern Glazer’s was recognized by Newsweek as one of America’s Greatest Workplaces for Diversity and America’s Greatest Workplaces for Women. Southern Glazer’s urges all retail customers and adult consumers to market, sell, serve, and enjoy its products responsibly. For more information visit www.southernglazers.com. Follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram @sgwinespirits.

Glendal Vandenbempt

The main Kremlin party retained its majority in Russia’s parliament, election officials said Monday, after a carefully orchestrated balloting that excluded most opposition candidates and helped the government maintain its tight grip on power.

Results from over 95% of the polling stations gave the Kremlin’s United Russia party just under 58% of the vote for the 225 seats apportioned by parties, according to the Central Election Commission. Another 225 lawmakers were chosen in single-ballot races, and the results showed United Russia candidates leading in 208 of those races.

Central Election Commission chair Ella Pamfilova said the preliminary results indicated that United Russia would get 355 seats out of 450.

It was the first parliamentary election held since President Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, and the first to include residents of four regions of that country that were seized and illegally annexed by Moscow later that year. Voting also was held in Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Kyiv denounced the voting in those regions as illegal.

The Kremlin tightened its crackdown on opposition ahead of the election, including barring Russia’s only liberal, anti-war party from the ballot and allowing it to compete only in single-ballot races.

Along with United Russia, several other parties that almost always vote for Kremlin initiatives also won seats in the State Duma, the lower house of parliament.

Vladimir Yakushev, a secretary of the General Council of the United Russia party, speaks during a news conference following parliamentary elections, in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

A voter fills-in a ballot during Russia's parliamentary election in Donetsk, in the Russian-controlled part of the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (AP Photo)