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Conference

Conference Schedule

Meet our 2023 Speakers

AM

09:00 AM 09:30 AM

Oyster Room

Todd Azevedo

Wine & Grape Broker, Partner at Ciatti

Global Bulk Wine Trends and Opportunities

Todd Azevedo joined the Ciatti Company in 2005 after completing his Agricultural Finance degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Although brokering wine, grapes, and wine products through the state of California, Todd focus is on the California Central Coast industry.  Todd appreciates the people and places his work allows him to come in contact with while serving as a source of real time information.

09:30 AM 10:00 AM

Oyster Room

Jon Berg

Thought Leadership VP – Beverage Alcohol Vertical for NielsenIQ

Bulk Wine Data and Opportunities

Jon has 18 years of Beverage Alcohol industry experience with broad segment specialization, while working for MillerCoors, Bacardi USA and Moet Hennessy.  His roles were focused on commercial insights development, category management, shopper research, and retail pricing design.  Jon’s investigative work has taken him to all the major US and Canadian markets, as well as global projects in Europe.  Jon has been creating primary research projects in the industry for several years.  This has provided his focus on forward leaning actionable insights, while constantly seeking the opportunity to create fact-based positioning for his stakeholders.

10:00 AM 10:20 AM

Oyster Room

Jason Steffens

Training Manager at Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits

Training Your Sales Teams How to Successfully Sell Your Brands

Jason Steffens is a Training Manager for Deutsch Family Wine and Spirits who works with state and regional leadership and their distributors across the eastern United States, embedding core sales and management capabilities needed to excel within their roles.  After spending 10 years owning restaurants in central Illinois and 18 years holding key sales and management positions on the distributor and supplier sides of the Alcoholic Beverage Industry, Jason knows how to build successful sales teams through effective onboarding, capability enhancement, and performance development. 

10:20 AM 11:00 AM

Oyster Room

Kimberly Shannon

Beer, Wine and Liquor Specialist at Giant Eagle, Inc

Jeff Feist

Divisional Manager - Alcohol, wine, beer & spirits. Save Mart

Sid Patel

CEO and Founder at Beverage Trade Network

Panel of Retail Chain Buyers

Panel moderated by Sid Patel will have three panelists :

1. Kimberly Shannon : Beer, Wine and Liquor Specialist at Giant Eagle, Inc

2. Jeff Feist : Divisional Manager - Alcohol, wine, beer & spirits. Save Mart

3. Timothy Moore : VP Wine RNDC

PM

01:00 PM 01:40 PM

Oyster Room

Maurice DiMarino

Wine and Beverage Manager at Cohn Restaurant Group

Cami Lehmann

Director of Marketing, Maggiano’s Little Italy at Brinker International

Jim Bube MS

Wine Director at Hogsalt

Rachel Lowe

Director of Beverage Operations at Levy Restaurants

Panel of Restaurants Buyers

Panel of restaurants chain buyers will be moderated by Sid patel. Following are the panelists:

1. Maurice DiMarino : Wine and Beverage Manager at Cohn Restaurant Group

2. Cami Lehmann : Director of Marketing, Maggiano’s Little Italy at Brinker International

3. Jim Bube MS : Wine Director at Hogsalt

4. Rachel Lowe : Director of Beverage Operations at Levy Restaurants

01:40 PM 02:00 PM

Oyster Room

Jeff Kozak

CEO of WhistlePig Whiskey

Building a Fast Growing Company

Jeff Kozak, CEO of WhistlePig Whiskey will speak on fast growth and leadership this July at the IBWSS Show in San Francisco. IBWSS is pleased to announce that Jeff will have a keynote at the 2023 IBWSS Show. Founded in 2008, WhistlePig is now the most awarded Rye Whiskey maker in the world.

02:00 PM 02:30 PM

Oyster Room

Kryss Speegle MW

Vice President - Business to Business.

Certifications and You

Kryss is a US-based winemaker, educator, and sales professional. She has an MS in food science/oenology from U.C. Davis and a WSET Diploma. Her winemaking experience includes harvests in Napa Valley, Germany and New Zealand and extensive work in California's coastal and interior regions.

02:30 PM 03:00 PM

Oyster Room

Ankita Okate

Chief Growth Officer and Events Head at Beverage Trade Network

The application of AI in the alcohol industry: What you can do today in your winery and distillery.

This topic encompasses the current impact of AI on the business, future AI trends, and opportunities, preparing for the AI revolution, personalized recommendations, predicting market demand and consumer preferences, quality control, compliance with regulations, enhancing the sensory experience, sustainability, inventory management, and the future of the industry. You will walk away with 10 things you can do in your winery and distillery TODAY.

AM

09:00 AM 09:30 AM

Oyster Room

Horst Mueller

Global Head VinLog at Kuehne + Nagel

Global Shipping and Logistics

Horst has spent 34 years working in the industry. He has been taking care of the drinks business handled by VinLog for 15 years.
With his extensive experience, he knows the drinks industry inside out and is well aware of what is important to ensure that the products arrive at their destination in perfect condition.

Born and raised in Germany, Horst has since lived in South Africa, California, Burgundy, New York and Paris.

09:30 AM 10:00 AM

Oyster Room

Matthew Hughes

Director of US Operations, BevZero

Chasing Terroir: The Evolution of Non-Alcoholic Wines

Matt brings more than twenty years of industry experience to his role at BevZero. He has served as a Winemaker, Director of Winemaking, and General Manager for the last decade.  After progressing from various positions in the cellar, lab, and winemaking, Matt owned and operated a small wine company for several years before returning to help others build and grow their companies.  He has held positions at Kendall-Jackson, Vérité, Six Sigma Ranch, and Brassfield Estate. Most recently, prior to joining BevZero, Matt helped create and launch a large custom crush and wine services facility, Feliz Creek Cellars, from the ground up. “I am passionate about the no and low alcohol space.

10:00 AM 10:20 AM

Oyster Room

Bryan Avila

Co-Founder, CEO and teacher, Vintners Institute

Building Business Resilience

Bryan Avila is a formally trained enologist, seasoned commercial winemaker, ACUE Credentialed Educator and Co-Founder of the Vintners Institute. The Vintners Institute brings wine industry producers and allies together, online and in-person, to Innovate with nature, Educate the workforce, and Inspire good leaders. A freelance writer for Wine Business Monthly’s Trials section, Bryan covers advancements in viticulture and enology at the university level and the applied research trials that viticulturists and winemakers use to implement them. This helps the industry grow better grapes, make better wine, and maintain resiliency as our industry is called to improvise, adapt and overcome the challenges of climate change.

10:20 AM 11:00 AM

Oyster Room

Randy Herron

Head Winemaker at C. Mondavi & Family

Jake Pauli

Assistant Winemaker for Yokayo Wine Company

Bryan Avila

Co-Founder, CEO and teacher, Vintners Institute

K. Christopher (“KC”) Branch

Attorney, International Wine Law

Technical Panel - Wine

Technical wine panel will have below panelists:

1. Randy Herron : Head Winemaker at C. Mondavi & Family

2. Jake Pauli : Assistant Winemaker for Yokayo Wine Company

3. Bryan Avila: Co-Founder, CEO and teacher, Vintners Institute

4. KC Branch : Attorney, International Wine Law

PM

01:00 PM 01:40 PM

Oyster Room

Adam Spiegel

President and Master Distiller of Corning & Company

Jason Dodge

Managing Director, Winemaking at Innerstave

Rob Bourdon

Sales Director at Tennessee Distilling Group

Dustin Caster

Distillery and Packaging Director at the Virginia Distillery Company

Technical Panel - Spirits

Technical panel for Spirits Panelists are :

1. Adam Spiegel: President and Master Distiller of Corning & Company.

2. Jason Dodge: Managing Director, Winemaking at Innerstave.

3. Rob Bourdon, Sales Director at Tennessee Distilling Group.

4. Dustin Caster, Distillery and Packaging Director at the Virginia Distillery Company.

5. Ben Franzini, Principal of Bluegrass Distillers.

 

01:40 PM 02:20 PM

Oyster Room

Jessica Kogan

Chief Growth & Experience Officer at Vintage Wine Estates

Robyne Eldridge

Vice President B2C eCommerce - National & Regional Accounts

Cheryl Durzy

Founder & CEO of LibDib

Ankita Okate

Chief Growth Officer and Events Head at Beverage Trade Network

E-commerce Panel

Ecommerce Panelists are :

1. Jessica Kogan: Chief Growth & Experience Officer at Vintage Wine Estates

2. Robyne Eldrige : Vice President B2C E Commerce, Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits

3. Cheryl Durzy: Founder & CEO of LibDib

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