Sara Welch Goucher leads the US eCommerce business at Molson Coors Beverage Company. In her tenure at MCBC, the eCommerce channel has grown triple digits and become one of the top growth drivers for the company. She joined MCBC in 2018 after 10 years with Kimberly-Clark Corporation, where she worked in sales, brand marketing, global marketing, and eCommerce. When not slinging suds on the internet, she enjoys spending time with her family, reading, salsa dancing, traveling, and watching documentaries. Sara lives in the Chicagoland area with her husband and 2 small children. Sara graduated with a degree in Business Administration from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

With 16+ plus years in the grocery retail landscape, including over a decade of emphasis on category management in an industry-leading chain retailer for adult beverage, Mary Guiver’s dynamic background at Whole Foods Market Inc provides a unique blend of retail insights. As the Principle Global Category Merchant for Beer & Spirits she continues to grow the WFM program through commitment to artisanal, local and innovative products, alongside a steadfast focus on quality standards and consumer demands. With a keen eye for industry trends and a collaborative approach to chain retail, Mary is able to elaborate on the inner strategies and continued evolution of one of the top chain retailers in the market.

Shojo Beer Co. is a Nicaraguan & Lebanese inspired brewery with a Japanese aesthetic. Our goal is to show the world our story through our beers and art incorporating flavors found in our cultures, heritage and most importantly memories from our countries and growing up in an immigrant household. We also involve our community in our efforts by hosting fundraisers for every new beer release supporting various local and global charities and collecting supplies for those in need.

Jamie joined Molson Coors in 2020 to lead the North American Innovation team. An accomplished marketing executive with nearly 20 years’ experience in CPG, including the wine and spirits industry, Jamie has a knack for developing consumer-centric strategies and business solutions that produce growth. In her year at Molson Coors, Jamie has unleashed Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, Simply Spiked Lemonade and more into the market, and is extending Molson Coors’ innovation pipeline into new segments that deliver on the company’s transformation from a legacy brewer to a beverage company. Jamie earned a B.A. in Liberal Arts & Sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a Masters of Business Administration from DePaul University, Chicago Illinois.

Soham Bhatt launched Artifact Cider Project in 2014 with the goal to make unique, terroir-driven ciders accessible to everyone. Artifact Cider recently launched a spin-off of fan-favorite brand Feels Like Home Craft Cider expanding their juicy and accessible offerings. Having a former career in biotechnology engineering, Soham merges his passions for food, art, and culture with his technical background to create sophisticated ciders for the everyday palate. In 2020, Soham was elected to the Board of Directors of the American Cider Association. He lives in Cambridge, MA with his wife, two children, and fiesty pup Jules.

LeAnn Darland’s love for beer and dream of owning a brewery was first ignited while stationed in San Diego, serving in the US Navy as a Signals Intelligence Officer. Living in this popular craft beer destination, LeAnn was inspired by the casual, communal vibe of local taprooms. After five years of naval service, LeAnn used her Masters in Finance and MBA to pursue a career in corporate finance at Google. She began homebrewing and cold-emailing breweries to see if she could work for free and learn about the business in exchange. Unfortunately, no breweries responded, but during this time, LeAnn was serendipitously introduced to the founder of Hopsy, who was in the beginning stages of fundraising for the craft beer delivery company. LeAnn joined the Hopsy team full time as the Head of Finance and later interviewed and convinced Tara Hankinson, her future TALEA co-founder, to join. Once colleagues, the two found that they had a mutual dream of opening a brewery of their own and serving easy-to-love beers. Within three months of meeting, TALEA Beer Co. was born.

Danny Brager has a wealth of experience in the Beverage Alcohol industry, seeing many trends come and stay, but others come and then die. He is the former Senior Vice President of Nielsen’s Beverage Alcohol Practice Area in the United States, where for close to 20 years he led teams that supported relationships with Nielsen’s many Beer, Wine, and Spirits clients (suppliers, importers, distributors, and retailers) as well as with key industry groups and the media. In that role, Danny succinctly provided data driven analysis and insights, focused on the U.S. retail environment and consumer/shopper – who they are, what they buy, and why - and what to expect looking ahead. In September 2020, Danny introduced Brager Beverage Alcohol Consulting, providing analysis services to beverage alcohol companies seeking to translate market data into authoritative, fact-based insights in support of their brand and corporate goals. Every year, he presents at large numbers of industry and individual company events, and is a frequent thought leader contributor to the media/press. His informed opinions are respected by beverage alcohol producers, importers, distributors, retailers, and financiers. Danny was born in Calgary, Alberta and moved to Toronto where he graduated from the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto with an Honors Bachelor Degree in Business Administration. He relocated to Mission Viejo, California in 1993 where he now resides.

John Byrne is the Director of National Accounts at Firestone Walker. This role includes managing a team of national account managers & category managers, collaborating with our internal sales and distributor teams, developing strategy with leadership at Firestone Walker, and enhancing partnerships with our key retailers. Prior to joining Firestone Walker in 2012, he spent 10+ years with Miller Brewing Company and MillerCoors with a background in both field sales and national account management. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, he now resides in Chapel Hill, North Carolina with his wife Rachel and daughter Quinn, and enjoys spending time outdoors, trail running, and hiking (and, of course, enjoying a delicious pint of beer).John Byrne is the Director of National Accounts at Firestone Walker. This role includes managing a team of national account managers & category managers, collaborating with our internal sales and distributor teams, developing strategy with leadership at Firestone Walker, and enhancing partnerships with our key retailers. Prior to joining Firestone Walker in 2012, he spent 10+ years with Miller Brewing Company and MillerCoors with a background in both field sales and national account management. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, he now resides in Chapel Hill, North Carolina with his wife Rachel and daughter Quinn, and enjoys spending time outdoors, trail running, and hiking (and, of course, enjoying a delicious pint of beer).

Nate Armbrust is a native Oregonian who grew up in the Willamette Valley. He attended Oregon State University where he received a B.S. in Food Science and Technology with a concentration in Fermentation Science. Prior to joining Scott Laboratories as a Technical Sales Representative in Beverage Integrity and Filtration, Nate spent over 20 years in the beverage industry working in product and process development. In addition to beer and wine, he also has experience in aseptic manufacturing of low acid food and beverage, and spent a decade in the coffee industry where he pioneered many of the cold brew coffee product categories that you see on shelf in cafes and grocery stores across the country. Nate and his family live in Portland, Oregon.

Jessica manages the Fermentation & Enology Department at Scott Laboratories. She’s an experienced fermentation scientist with two decades of experience and has been involved in all aspects of fermented beverage production including material handling, processing, fermentation, stabilization, and packaging. Prior to joining Scott Laboratories, she held positions at Brew Dr. Kombucha in Portland overseeing the Lab, QA/QC, food safety/regulatory compliance, and R&D programs and at Oregon State University in the Food Science Department teaching brewing, winemaking, and cidermaking. She is the first woman graduate of OSU’s Fermentation program and holds a B.S. and M.S. in Food Science from OSU. Recently, she co-authored the Hard Seltzer chapter in the forthcoming 4th Edition of The Practical Brewer.

Dan Gordon has earned a reputation as one of America's leading brewing engineers and is the current Chief Executive Officer for Gordon Biersch. Dan was the first American in more than 40 years to graduate from the prestigious five-year brewing engineering program at the world-renowned Technical University of Munich, Weihenstephan, West Germany. After the program, Dan returned to California and joined forces with restaurateur Dean Biersch to take advantage of a new state law allowing brewery restaurants. In 1988, the partners opened their first Gordon Biersch brewery restaurant in Palo Alto, Calif. And now Dan directs the operations at his state-of-the art canning and bottling brewery in San Jose, CA, the 15th largest brewing company in the country. In addition to running the brewery, Dan teaches a class on the production and business of wine, beer and spirits at UC Berkeley as well as quarterly guest speaking on Entrepreneurship at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Dan is a native of the Bay Area and is married to wife Melissa and has three children; Oliver, Haley and Cameron.

Brian has 13 years of industry experience on the supplier side, primarily spent in field sales, sales and distributor management, and most recently managing National Accounts for Odell Brewing Company. During his 12 years at Odell Brewing he learned the intricacies of distribution and the retail landscape while operating a self-distribution arm. Brian was also integral in opening and developing new markets and launching a hard kombucha and wine company. Brian has extensive knowledge of the 3-Tier system, managing distributors, e-commerce and calling on both on and off premise chain buyers. Brian joined Fintech in Spring 2022 on the data team as an Enterprise Data Sales Executive and works with Beer, Wine and Spirits suppliers to consult and provide insights and analytics to help them manage their chain business and supply chain. Brian holds a Cicerone Level 1 and WSET Wine Level 1. He resides in the mountains of Colorado with his wife, son and dog.