Jay Jessup
President
Jay Jessup became President of Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Central Virginia in 1984. He had been a professional musician before returning to Pepsi-Cola in 1983 to learn the family business.
Jay is a graduate of Blue Ridge School and St. Andrews Presbyterian College. He is very active in the Charlottesville Community and has held such positions as Director and Chairman of the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, Director and Chairman of Blue Ridge School, Director of The Music Resource Center, Director of the Pepsi-Cola Bottlers Association and a Director of the Charlottesville-Albemarle Chamber of Commerce. Over the years, Jay has also been active in a variety of soft drink associations, serving as a Director of the National Soft Drink Association and as President and Treasurer of the Virginia Soft Drink Association.
Jay is President of Ja-Zan LLC, a commercial real estate company, and is a member of First Presbyterian Church and Farmington Country Club.
Suzanne J. Brooks
Executive Vice President
Suzanne became Executive Vice President in 1984. Prior to this assignment, Suzanne served in several capacities as Brand Manager for Dr Pepper from July, 1981 to October, 1983 and as a receptionist in 1974 and again from August, 1980 through July, 1981. Before joining PCVA, Suzanne spent the previous ten years in Greenville and Kinston, NC going to school, running a restaurant, and teaching school.
Suzanne holds a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Management.
Suzanne currently serves on the board of the Perry Foundation, Piedmont Family YMCA, East Carolina University Foundation and the Virginia Beverage Association of which she was the first woman president.
Ralph Campbell
General Manager
Ralph began his career with Pepsi-Cola of Central Virginia as a Pepsi Route Salesman in 1975. PCVA provided opportunities to learn various aspects of the business and work with some great people across the Pepsi system and in many areas of the beverage industry including Sales, Marketing, Operations and Management. Education and Training included Dale Carnegie, PCMI, ICPM (JMU), and a wealth of training and experience from colleagues and mentors. Ralph is a proud recipient of the Pepsico President’s Ring of Honor Award. Currently Ralph serves as General Manager of PCVA.
“This is a great business, full of changes, challenges and opportunities to grow and learn. Our Central Virginia territory stretches from Prince William and Loudoun counties in Northern Virginia to the rural towns and mountains at the western edge of Virginia with many wonderful places in between. The products we produce in Charlottesville and distribute across 18 counties are second to none and we are very proud of the service we provide to our customers. PCVA is a family owned company with dedicated owners and employees who care about our people, our business and our customers.”
When he’s not working, Ralph enjoys a wide variety of music, slicing golf shots, tasting craft beers, traveling across the country and spending time with friends and family – wife Trish, 3 children and 8 grandchildren.
Diane Schmidt
Vice President of Finance
Diane joined Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Central Virginia as Vice President of Finance in 2020. After a number of years in the not-for-profit sector, she has returned to PCVA where she previously served as audit manager for PCVA engagement when employed with Hantzmon Wiebel, LLC. Most recently Diane served as Associate Head of School for Operations/CFO at St. Anne’s-Belfield School and Chief Financial and Administrative Officer for blue moon fund. She is a certified public accountant and received her B.S. in business administration from the University of Mary Washington and her M.B.A. from James Madison University.
Diane currently serves on the governing board and audit committee of the Charlottesville Albemarle Community Foundation and is a member of the AICPA and VSCPA. As an active member of First Presbyterian Church, she has served on the Session and Board of Deacons.
Jesse Yowell
Plant Manager, Charlottesville, VA
Jesse began his career at PCVA in April 1983 and has held several positions at Pepsi-Cola. His career began as a relief driver and advanced to salesman, Route Manager, On Premise Manager, and in 2002 was promoted to Sales Manager at the Weyers Cave location and maintained that position for 15 years. In March of 2018 he was promoted to Plant Operations Manager in Charlottesville responsible for managing the products we produce here at the Charlottesville facility, shipping and receiving on first shift and the second shift in the warehouse. He has completed several sales training courses including Dale Carnegie course in Leadership Training, and was a recipient of the Pepsico Presidents Ring of Honor award in 2017. Jesse has also completed training in Food Safety courses,(PCQI, FSMA,GMP’s).
He is also the head coach (9 years) for Madison County High School fast pitch softball team, winning the 2A East State Championship title in 2017. In his spare time he enjoys traveling, camping, and spending time with family and especially with his two grandkids.
Mark Pence
Plant Manager, Warrenton, VA
Mark Pence has been a part of the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Central Virginia family for 26 years. He has served as a swingman, driver, account manager, district manager and sales manager, and is now the Plant Manager at the Warrenton, VA PCVA facility. Mark currently serves on the Go To Market – Franchise Development Committee.
He serves as President of the Team Virginia Athletics travel softball & baseball organization. He has coached youth sports for 14 years and currently is the head coach of the Team Virginia Mizuno - Pence 18U team. When not at work, Mark enjoys watching sports, hunting, fishing, camping and coaching youth sports.
Russell Shiflett
Plant Manager, Weyers Cave, VA
Russell began his lifelong career with Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company of Central Virginia in 1970 as a Swingman. Six months later he became a Route Salesman. He was a salesman for five-and-a-half years before being promoted to Route Supervisor and soon after, Merchandising Manager. It did not take long before Russell was promoted again, and became the Assistant Sales Manager for the Charlottesville sales team, a position he occupied for nine years, and then the General Sales Manager for four more years. After thirty years working in Charlottesville, Russell transferred to Weyers Cave as the Plant Manager, where he remains today. Russell takes great pride in his plant and his employees and looks forward to the future and his eventual retirement from a place he truly respects.
