Lubrication Specialties Inc. (LSI), manufacturer of Hot Shot’s Secret brand fuel and oil additives, has announced the addition of Brian Merz as the company’s director of national account sales.
Merz previously served as senior key account manager for Idemitsu Lubricants America, in Cleveland, prior to joining LSI. With two decades of experience in strategic planning, new business development and sales management, he has worked for some of the largest companies in the lubrication industry, including Shell Oil Products and Penzoil-Quaker State Co., both as senior national account manager. Prior to his position with Idemitsu, he served as senior national accounts manager for ITW Global Brands in Cleveland. There, he managed several of the company’s largest customers, including AutoZone and Target, for the automotive and mass retailer channel and managed five independent sales rep agencies covering territory in the Southeast, Northeast and Midwest.
Merz said, “Hot Shot’s Secret has made incredible leeway in a very short period of time. It will be my goal to support our existing retailers with customized programs and promotions to support sales and to grow distribution vertically and horizontally, to ensure increased share across all markets.”
Chris Gabrelcik, LSI president, said, “We were very fortunate to find Brian and add him to the team. His outstanding relationships with the major retailers developed over the past 20 years promoting and supporting products similar to ours made him a perfect fit for this key senior position. Within the past year we have positioned Hot Shot’s Secret to be the brand to watch for increased market share. With all upper management positions filled, we are now poised to fully support our distribution partners with the level of attention and planning that will help move product quickly.”
The position became effective March 5. Merz reports directly to Gabrelcik and will work remotely from Cleveland.
