This year marks 85 years of our historic, family-owned and operated company. As we commemorate this milestone, our A Day in the Life Series will focus on retirees pivotal to Heaven Hill’s evolution to becoming the country’s fifth-largest distilled spirits supplier.

Originally a senior accountant in a Louisville CPA firm which had Heaven Hill as a client, Mark Pulliam joined the team as Assistant Administrative Director in 1984. Mark’s responsibilities expanded greatly as the company grew, branching into areas like finance, tax, accounting, supply chain functions, legal and compliance and many others. Mark retired earlier this year as Vice President of Administration and Chief Financial Officer.

He discusses how the organization evolved over time from a flat organization with few players to one of greater depth with larger departments and specialization.

Tell us about a typical day for you at Heaven Hill.

There was not necessarily a typical day, although there was always a list of tasks and responsibilities we knew had to get done each and every day. It does seem like in the last five to 10 years, most of my days were spent in meetings; planning and trying to stay on top of project work, acquisitions, goal setting and reviewing results.

What was your favorite thing about working here?​​​​​​​

For me, it comes down to culture. Being a family organization, you develop those close family-type bonds – not only within your own working groups but also throughout the larger organization. I also loved working in an industry with such a rich heritage and tradition – having that association with products that so many consumers can truly identify with. You develop a real sense of pride.

What are some contributions you and your team made during your time at Heaven Hill that you are particularly proud of?

The thing that I’m probably most proud of is my longevity with the company and the ability of my team to adapt to change and growth. We were able to bring in a number of large acquisitions in a very short period of time, integrating those acquisitions into the larger organization successfully. We developed a great team of people, in quite a number of areas. Just helping to lead the building of the infrastructure to integrate, sustain and maintain such growth over the years – I’m very proud of that.

What first attracted you to Heaven Hill?

I was working for the company’s CPA firm in Louisville, and the audit partner on the engagement knew Max was looking for someone with an accounting/finance background to groom for a new position that would eventually lead to replacing a Senior Vice President.  He recommended me to Max for an interview. In those days, things were much simpler and less formal.  There wasn’t a structured recruiting process, per se. We had what I would consider to be a very personal conversation for about an hour. Things went well, and we made a great connection.

It seemed like a natural fit for me. I was 27 years old at the time, and Vicky was pregnant with our first child. I loved the idea of working for a family company and raising a family in a small town with such a rich tradition and history. Also, working in that industry held great appeal for me. I felt there would be opportunities to grow, and I’m grateful for the ones that were afforded to me.

What is your favorite Heaven Hill memory?

One of my favorite memories is something that probably happened to everybody on their first day. On my first day with the company, Parker Beam took me on a tour of the distillery, which at that time was still in Bardstown. As he was explaining the fermentation process to me, we passed by several huge cypress wood fermenting tanks.

When you looked down into a tank, it looked like a big bubbling cauldron of witch’s brew. Parker said, “Take a deep breath of that.” So, I did, not knowing what was going on. The chemicals reacting were giving off a lot of CO2, so it was like inhaling smelling salts. It almost knocked me off the platform.

So, yeah, I fell for Parker’s joke. He probably did that to hundreds of people.

Probably my most cherished memory occurred at the time of my retirement, when I received a very personal letter of congratulations, friendship and thanks directly from Max. It touched me very dearly, and I still get emotional to this day thinking about it. I am very blessed to have been able to have such a wonderful career and have it end that way. Needless to say, I am a Heaven Hill ambassador for life!

Which Heaven Hill corporate value do you feel your work best represented and why?

The most important and one that I always wanted to best represent was integrity. Life is all about relationships – building and maintaining relationships. Integrity and trust are the foundation for all relationships.

Tell us about your life in retirement and how you like to spend your time today.

Retirement has really been great so far. Life is pretty relaxed and much less stressful these days. Vicky and I have enjoyed the increased time we get spend together. I’m very happy to report that we haven’t killed each other yet!

We have enjoyed playing quite a bit of golf this year, and even though COVID has altered some of our plans, it hasn’t slowed us down too much. We have still been able to travel to several destinations this year. 

We do quite a bit of volunteer work, both being very active in our church. I am currently leading a project at church to provide Thanksgiving food baskets to families in need. I also serve as treasurer for the Flaget Hospital Foundation board.

Last, but certainly not least, I have grown very fond of grilling on my Big Green Egg 2 or 3 times a week. It gives me a great excuse to enjoy a few sips of the “Best of the Great Kentucky Bourbons!”