Sarah Matesich Schwab grew up around the family business. Whether she was using her printmaking skills to create signs for the company or cleaning a drain pipe in the middle of the warehouse, she and her two sisters were always around Matesich Distributing Co.
Since they were young, her father, Jim Matesich, emphasized to his three daughters that the male-dominated nature of the industry should not prevent them from pursuing a path in the family business – if they so chose.
Now, not only is 38-year-old Matesich Schwab the president and chief operating officer at Newark-based Matesich Distributing Co., but she also is the first female chair elected to the Anheuser-Busch Wholesaler Advisory Panel and first woman elected to the state association board, Wholesale Beer and Wine Association of Ohio (WBWAO).
All while being a mom of an 11-year-old and a 7-year-old.
Matesich’s one-year term as chair of Anheuser-Busch’s Wholesaler Advisory Panel is complete at the end of February.
The Anheuser-Busch Wholesaler Advisory Panel represents more than 400 of Anheuser-Busch’s wholesaler partners across the United States. The company, Anheuser-Busch, is the brewery behind beers such as Budweiser, Stella Artois, Landshark and Natural Light. As chair of the panel, Matesich Schwab oversees all of Anheuser-Busch’s partners attempting to strengthen their collaboration and ensure future success.
“We think about what the most important issues are and how the system is going to be impacted based on decisions that Anheuser-Busch is thinking about making – really taking into consideration all of our partners across the country and how they’ll be impacted,” Matesich Schwab said.
Matesich Schwab explained that the role of a wholesale distributor, in general, is effectively connecting manufacturers with consumers. The industry is divided into three tiers to prevent large corporations from taking over. The distributors, such as Matesich Distributing Co. and other partners of Anheuser-Busch, transfer the beverages from manufacturers to sellers, helping them secure space in stores.
“When you look at the beer aisle, there’s obviously a lot of higher velocity selling items that are mostly major brands like Bud Light, Coors Light, Miller Light, Corona. Those are all huge companies, but there’s also tons of accessibility for smaller craft brewers as well. We have a system that allows for independent mom-and-pop locations to thrive as well,” Matesich Schwab said.
She became president of Matesich Distributing Co. in 2019. She is the fourth generation of Matesichs to lead the business, which services over a thousand accounts in 11 counties.
Although she grew up around the business, at first, her college journey took her on a different path. After graduating from Wittenberg University with a degree in education, she worked at Wittenberg in the admissions department.
Yet, Matesich Schwab felt that something was missing: She decided she wanted to work for the family business.
“One of the reasons I really wanted to come back is the values that my dad taught my sisters and I,” she said. “How to work with people, being in a team and reaching a goal is something I think I took for granted when I went out and did a job outside of the family business. It created an appreciation for what my family had built and that I wanted to be a part of that.”
Her dad didn’t agree immediately. Neither Matesich Schwab nor her father wanted him to just create a position for her. He decided she needed to learn the business first. She spent time working in each area of the company. She wasn’t allowed to move on until each department manager thought she had learned everything she needed. She learned the business from top to bottom, without any guarantee she would be president one day.
“Whether it’s getting forklift certified, being in the warehouse, getting on a truck, working out with our retail partners on the sales team, HR, accounting, you name it, I did everything,” Matesich Schwab said.
Eight years later she became president and chief operating officer, now running the business alongside her father. Jim Matesich, current chair and CEO, has reduced his hours at the company, leaving it in Matesich Schwab’s hands. He’s not retired, but Matesich Schwab said he is beginning to phase himself out in the next couple years.
“I’m trying to soak in as much time as possible with him,” Matesich Schwab said.
Matesich Schwab describes her father as an admired and trusted mentor throughout her company experience.
Even after securing the role of president of Matesich Distributing Co, Matesich Schwab wasn’t done learning.
Her position on the wholesaler advisory panel started with a desire to learn more about the entire wholesaler business and build relationships with other team members through a year-long program offered by Anheuser-Busch. From there, Matesich Schwab had the opportunity to join the wholesaler advisory panel.
The panel of about 20 members serves to oversee the six regions of Anheuser-Busch partners. Matesich Schwab emphasizes that each wholesaler, or Anheuser-Busch partner, is different and the goal of the panel is to effectively strengthen their combined businesses.
“Whether they’re urban, rural, coastal, you name it, there’s just such a diverse group of businesses,” she said. “We all have a very different approach.”
Each year, the chair is elected by the other panel members. In 2024, Matesich Schwab’s peers elected her to be chair of the panel. She is the first woman to fill this position.
She said the male-dominated nature of the industry is hard not to notice, especially when she’s on a board or in a room full of people and she is the only or one of the only women. She emphasized that for her, it was important to stay true to herself.
“I think at the end of the day, especially being elected by my peers to serve as their chair, I think it says a lot about who I am as a person regardless of if I were a male or a female,” she said.
She pursued the business she wanted and she encourages others to do the same.
“Get into whatever you are passionate about. It doesn’t have to be business. If it is business, great. If it’s technology, if it’s education, great. I think generationally we are getting so much better at being much more open-minded about what skill, talent, ability, all people bring to the table. Regardless of your socioeconomic educational background, we all have talent and skill that we can bring to a team or a company,” Matesich Schwab said.
With the time commitment that comes with the panel, her job at Matesich Distributing Co. and her family, Matesich Scwab has a lot of practice in balancing a large amount of responsibilities.
“I hesitate in saying you can have it all because I think no one can have it all. And the balance of today is different from the balance of tomorrow. I think that when it comes to this panel, I would’ve not put myself in this position to be the panel chair if I didn’t believe I had a strong team here at the company,” she said.
Matesich Schwab enjoys going to work every day, a luxury she recognizes not everyone has. She enjoys coming to work because of the people she works with. With everyone from the people in the company to their supplier partners in mind, each day she attempts to follow a saying she learned from her grandfather: your strongest asset is your people, treat them like your family.
“At the end of the day, we’re not selling widgets,” Matesich Schwab said. “We’re selling a product that a lot of times brings people together, creates comradery, and has a positive social atmosphere. And that’s something that is fun to be a part of.”
Ella Diehl writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.