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After a monthslong search, the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has promoted one of its managers to the position of deputy director.
Cade Meier, who has worked at the DABC as an information technology project manager and a warehouse general manager, will move into the department's No. 2 position in January, the governor's office announced Wednesday.
With more than 15 years of project and operational management experience, Meier will replace Tom Zdunich, who retired in August.
In his new role, Meier will direct and oversee the day-to-day operations of DABC, which has been under fire for its low employee salaries and high turnover rate, as well as a new ordering system that caused some stores to run out of product earlier this year.
While at the DABC, Meier has been in charge of budgeting, procedure analysis, and training staff on new technology.
"As a warehouse general manager, he improved process efficiency as he directed operating functions including shipping, receiving and inventory control," the governor's office said in a news release.
Prior to working for the state, he was a district general manager for CORT Furniture Retail.
Meier received a bachelor's degree at the University of Utah and an MBA from the U.'s David Eccles School of Business.
Candidates were vetted through a selection committee process. The hiring committee included Fred Boutwell, Gastronomy; Neal Berube, DABC commissioner; John Southwick, DABC store manager; Chad Whitlock, Governor's Office of Management and Budget representative; and Sal Petilos, executive director of DABC.