“ We were able to get really creative and fun , and come up with new ideas that really moved OHLQ beyond basic stabilization .”
During the 2018-2019 fiscal year , OHLQ generated a whopping $ 1.28 billion in high-proof liquor sales .
“ We were able to get really creative and fun , and come up with new ideas that really moved OHLQ beyond basic stabilization .”
– JIM CANEPA , DIVISION SUPERINTENDENT
Public Safety , deputy inspector general with the Office of the Ohio Inspector General , and first assistant attorney general for the Ohio Attorney General .
Earlier in his career , Canepa worked as an appellate prosecutor and a senior trial prosecutor for the Franklin County , Ohio Prosecutor ’ s Office .
Upon his arrival , Canepa and his leadership team identified additional opportunities for improvement across the division . “ We were able to get really creative and fun , and come up with new ideas that really moved OHLQ beyond basic stabilization ,” he says .
Driving all the division ’ s initiatives is a commitment to using data in order to generate the best possible ideas and outcomes . Each program brings data to the forefront of the decision-making process , resulting in innovative approaches and methods . processes across the organization .
Flash forward to late 2019 , and Canepa remains in the position , where he ’ s helped OHLQ revolutionize its operations and drive unprecedented revenue growth . During the 2018-2019 fiscal year , OHLQ generated a whopping $ 1.28 billion in high-proof liquor sales .
Canepa is relatively new to the beverage alcohol industry , but his vast experience in enforcement and investigation drew him to the division . Prior to joining , Canepa served as chief of staff and legal affairs for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency . He ’ s held numerous other leadership roles within Ohio state government , including chief legal counsel with the Ohio Department of
STAKEHOLDER RELATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY A large focus of the new administration has been the division ’ s ongoing LMP , which has been underway since 2016 .
Initial outreach targeted agency stores and included a number of initiatives , including surveys and town hall meetings , an increased number of store visits and the creation of additional in-person and webinar trainings . Enhanced communications were another large priority , and efforts included the implementation of a new e-mail messaging system and creating a group of dedicated liaisons , charged with initiating face-to-face communications with various stakeholders .
A new website , Ops . OHLQ . com , provided agency stores with real-time product information and other important updates . The division also set up the Liquor Enterprise Service Center ( LESC ), a 24 / 7 tier-level support call center .
“ LESC has kind of become our system hub ,” says Lorraine Terry , senior director of JOBS . “ The service center is staffed every day , and is the main point of contact for our agency partners who have questions , problems or concerns . People also have the option of sending us an e-mail if they don ’ t want to call in .”
In 2018 , OHLQ widened its focus to include additional stakeholders . This new program — internally referred to as the Stakeholder Engagement Program ( StEP ) — aims to actively engage all stakeholders to assure that they continue supporting OHLQ ’ s growth .
Feedback was collected from multiple stakeholder groups , including agency owners , vendors , brokers and various industry organizations from across the state . OHLQ has used this feedback
StateWays | www . stateways . com | September / October 2019 9