ITG Brands has announced the retirement of two of its long-time executives, Kathy Sparrow, executive vice president of marketing and sales, and Fred Paternostro, vice president of sales.
Sparrow will retire effective April 1, while Paternostro will retire following the conclusion of transition planning.
Both Sparrow and Paternostro have worked at ITG Brands for more than 39 years. Sparrow started at ITG Brands as a sales representative in Chicago, then was promoted to director of sales planning, followed by a promotion to the position of general manager of sales planning and operations in 1997. In 1999 she was promoted to vice president of sales in 1999, senior vice president in 2006, and her current role in 2016.
Paternostro first joined ITG Brands in 1979 as a sales representative in Paterson, NJ. In 1986 he was promoted to division manager in Columbus, OH, and regional sales manager in Jacksonville, FL, in 1990.
Later, Paternostro was appointed director of sales for the company’s mid-western states and named vice president of area sales in 2009 and then promoted to vice president of international sales in 2015, when he moved to the Greensboro corporate offices and was instrumental in integrating ITG Brands sales organization following the sale of Lorillard.