TYLER ACKERSON
Legislative Liaison, Iowa Department of Revenue
Age: 37 First Industry Job: Executive Assistant to the Administrator of the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division Favorite Drink: Old Fashioned or dirty vodka martini
Tyler Ackerson ' s first full-time job was clerking for a state senator in the Iowa legislature.“ It was a great experience and gave me the opportunity to see the legislative process up close,” he recalls.“ It also taught me how much I enjoy working with people on policy. It’ s been a great full-circle moment to be able to be the legislative liaison for my agency and be a part of the alcohol policymaking process with our lawmakers and stakeholders.”
After his time at the legislature came to an end, he worked on a couple of political campaigns. Once those concluded, he knew he wanted to get back into state government.“ I applied for many different jobs just looking to get my foot back in the door,” he says.“ One of those was to be the executive assistant to the administrator of the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, Iowa’ s alcohol regulatory agency at the time. I was fortunate enough to get the position, and since then I’ ve spent the last eleven years continuing to grow in my role as a regulator in the industry.”
“ I am most proud of being one small part of a broader team of public servants who have worked hard to establish the former Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, and now the Iowa Department of Revenue, as a well-respected, customer-service-focused alcohol regulatory agency,” he explains.“ We strive to clearly communicate the rules of the road under our alcohol code / rules and make it simple to comply; protect public health and safety through our regulatory compliance efforts; and, as a Control State, responsibly generate revenue that ultimately benefits all of our citizens, regardless of whether they consume alcohol or not.” What’ s been his biggest career challenge so far?“ As a regulator, learning the specifics of alcohol law, how to correctly apply them, and how to clearly and simply communicate the requirements,” Ackerson says.“ As everyone in this industry knows, this is a heavily regulated area of commerce that varies by state, and stakeholders are always looking for guidance for their specific situations that is easy to understand. The details of a particular question or scenario matter so much when applying the law; one seemingly tiny detail can change everything. And learning and correctly applying the law is an ongoing process because this is such a dynamic industry that is constantly evolving and coming up with new products and business ideas.”
As for personal goals, Ackerson answers,“ I want to make sure that Iowa is seen as a leader in how an alcohol regulatory agency serves its stakeholders. How that ' s done is by being customer-focused and adopting a mindset of continuous improvement. How can we communicate more simply and effectively so that our licensees know what ' s required? Are our policies and procedures efficient and meeting the needs of our stakeholders? My colleagues and I are always thinking about these things and looking for ways to make improvements.”
ANDREW FOLIO
President, North Central Distributors of WV
Age: 39 First industry job: Warehouse worker Favorite drink: A hefeweizen beer
Andrew Folio made his grand debut in the beverage alcohol industry at an early age, starting off as a warehouse employee and working his way up to president of North Central Distributors of WV.
Folio took over the statewide distributor from his aunt after she passed away during the middle of Covid-19. Since then, he’ s helped navigate the company through tariffs, a weak economy and a difficult alcohol market.
“ I was kind of thrust into this position after the unexpected passing of my aunt, who founded the company, but I’ ve been able to keep the business running and profitable over the last five years,” Folio says.
Since taking over, Folio has helped to keep North Central Distributors of WV alive and thriving by implementing several new operating procedures, such as changing its operating system to Encompass. He’ s also added several statewide brands to the company.
Folio continues to work hard to expand the beverage market in West Virginia to emerging generations while still protecting the three-tier system. He has worked with local, state and federal politicians to accomplish this.
And even after being thrust into this position and taking over a company that’ s been around for five decades, Folio says he enjoys every bit of it and looks forward to another 50 years.
On top of everything that he’ s done for the beverage alcohol industry, Folio has also worked in the real estate community in NCWV. He’ s been named a Howard Hanna Rising star and has also received a New agent award of Howard Hanna Premier Properties.
Folio’ s advice for young professionals in the industry? Work hard, show up and listen to mentors.
“ Whether it’ s suppliers, customers or coworkers, there’ s no beer or wine distribution school, so you really need to listen to mentors or people who are established in this industry,” he says.
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