Brian Rosen is the founder of the Growth Beverage collective of brands, which includes Sprout Beverage, InvestBev, BevStrat, and Algoma Capital. The Growth Beverage ecosystem serves independent beverage brands at every stage of their growth journey - from inception through exit.
Brian has dedicated his career to the beverage industry and is globally regarded as a leading authority on navigating the three-tier system. He was the CEO of his own $100 million independent liquor retailer, worked as a partner in the adult beverage category at PwC (Pricewaterhouse Coopers), and served as the lead consultant of trade marketing for Anheuser-Busch. He is the recipient of numerous industry awards, including Forbes Best of the Web (2x), Retailer of the Year (3x), Wine Innovator of the Year, and was a Power Ranking Top 100 Global Beverage Leader.
Brian has an Executive Leadership degree from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business and a degree in marketing and finance from DePaul University. He is a member of Tiger 21 and YPO Gold and serves on the boards of Pilot Project Brewing, ReserveBar, Nomadica, and Fyllo.
Why did you start Growth Beverage?
I started Growth Beverage because I saw a gap in the market. There was no comprehensive solution that provided brands with everything they needed in one place. I wanted to create a platform where brands could access incubation, capital, and sales and marketing support, regardless of where they were in their brand evolution.
What do you look for in a founder?
Hunger, drive, patience, and the ability to accept advice.
What is the most common mistake you see from founders/brands?
The most common mistake I see from founders and brands is overspending on labor for sales and marketing without a deep understanding of their core audience or a well-defined messaging strategy.
What do you want your legacy to be?
I want my legacy to be that of someone who made a positive impact in the alcoholic beverage industry by creating an environment that leveled the playing field for all brand founders, making it easier for them to succeed.
Giuseppe Infusino is a Partner and the Chief Investment Officer at InvestBev, a multi-million dollar private equity firm that deploys growth capital to brands in the beverage, barrel, and beverage tech categories. He leads InvestBev’s investment sourcing, diligence, and structuring processes, and partners with portfolio companies to increase their likelihood of success.
Prior to InvestBev, Giuseppe spent over a decade managing multi-billion-dollar portfolios on behalf of prominent institutional investors. He has successfully deployed over $1 billion across private equity and venture capital strategies.
Giuseppe is on the boards of CANN, Speakeasy, and L’Uva Bella. He holds an MBA in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.S. in Finance and Real Estate from University of Wisconsin-Madison.
What trends are you most excited about?
I’m interested in the larger shift toward transparency in the industry. This is coming to the beverage industry from the broader CPG space. It allows consumers to decide what is important to them from a health, personal, sourcing, moral, or other perspective. This will have an impact on everything from agriculture, to ingredients, to packaging, to supply chain, to labeling, and I’m excited to be on the ground floor.
What is the most common mistake you see from founders?
Trying to grow too quickly by overspending on labor is the most common mistake. Not knowing who your customer is or where to find them is a close second. When those two mistakes are paired, spending too much and doing so in a directionless way, it is a recipe for disaster.
What do you look for in a portfolio company?
We look for fundamentally sound businesses that are making good products in growing categories, led by excellent people that we want to work with.
Esther Park is a global brand builder and results-focused executive. As VP of Portfolio at InvestBev, she is responsible for partnering with portfolio companies to strengthen their operations and drive growth.
With extensive experience in the beverage and consumer packaged goods (CPG) industries, Esther has spearheaded international brand launches at leading corporations such as Molson Coors, Bacardi, Revlon, and Procter & Gamble. She had a pivotal role in establishing William Lawson's Scotch Whisky as the fastest-growing brand within the Bacardi spirits portfolio, and she led transformation initiatives that brought profitability to Revlon's regional business.
Esther's achievements have been recognized through numerous industry awards, including the Drinks International Award for Best Luxury Drinks Launch, International Spirits Challenge medals for taste, design & packaging, and new individual product, and The San Francisco World Spirits Competition double-gold medal.
Esther completed the Digital Transformation Executive Education Program from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University.
What excites you about the adult beverage industry?
It’s both a functional and emotional category. What you choose to drink on which occasion says something about you – and that’s where building a brand comes in. Founders have such belief and passion in their brands that is contagious. It’s important to get the brand fundamentals in place as that dictates where and how you show up and be strategic and choiceful in where you want to win.
What do you look for in a founder or portfolio company?
Belief, passion, grit, and clear demonstration of product market fit.
What is something people may be surprised to learn about you?
I love marrying form and function and have been a ceramicist for decades, taking classes and learning from many artists as I lived and worked in different countries – I recently opened an Etsy shop, Halenani. Halenani means beautiful home in Hawaiian and takes me back to my roots growing up there.
Gustavo Aguirre oversees the Sprout Beverage brand acceleration program and consulting services. As a VP of Brand Innovation, he partners with early-stage founders to help them refine their marketing, product, and commercialization strategies.
Gustavo has over 15 years of experience developing global advertising campaigns and go-to-market strategies for leading brands including Molson Coors, Anheuser Busch, Heineken, Pepsi, and Keurig. He spearheaded the product innovation program at Molson Coors and played a pivotal role in connecting Coors Light with the US Hispanic market, driving 8-figure incremental growth for the business.
Gustavo’s work has been recognized by leading marketing organizations who awarded his work Most Effective Multicultural Campaign and the Top Sport Marketer Campaign. He holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
What do you enjoy most about working in the beverage industry?
The constant discovery of amazing new products and the opportunity to work with extremely creative and hardworking founders.
What is the most common mistake you see from founders?
Lacking rigor when evaluating their product market fit potential.
What void does Sprout fill in the beverage industry?
It offers founders access to a multifaceted partner capable of providing actionable solutions that strengthen decision-making processes, reducing the opportunities to make expensive mistakes.
What are some of your hobbies outside of the beverage world?
I am an avid scuba diver and enjoy discovering new music.
Michael Koehler is the Vice President of Algoma Capital, a fund that partners with whiskey brands and distilleries to provide operating capital and debt financing using barrels as collateral. He is responsible for the fund’s daily operations and serves as the primary contact for its whiskey and distillery partners.
Michael has over a decade of commercial banking experience at institutions including BMO Harris and PNC, where he served many roles ranging from Associate to Relationship Manager. He holds an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a B.S. in Finance from Indiana University. In 2017, he received his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Charterholder certification. Michael is an avid golfer, and lives in the Chicago suburbs with his wife and son.
What motivated you to join Growth Beverage?
I joined Growth Beverage as there was an opportunity to capture an untapped market in the whiskey industry. Given the team’s industry expertise and my background in banking-it was a perfect fit.
What do you enjoy most about the adult beverage industry?
The passion of the founders is unlike any other industry I’ve worked with. They founded their business because they enjoy their product and want to spread that joy into others.
What innovations or trends in the industry are you most excited about?
Operators are experimenting more with different mashbills and finishes to separate themselves from the crowd. Innovation is strong within the whiskey industry.
Singerman
Alice Li is a Senior Associate at InvestBev, where she has a wide-range set of responsibilities including sourcing and evaluating new investment opportunities, managing due diligence, and modeling returns for the firm’s investments.
Prior to InvestBev, Alice worked as a consultant and investor at a variety of leading CPG leaders, including Nestlé, The Honest Company, and Accenture. She holds an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a B.S. in Supply Chain and Information Systems from The Pennsylvania State University.
What motivated you to join Growth Beverage?
I am excited to be a part of a to be part of a dynamic and fun team, supporting founders and startups in shaping the adult beverage industry, while driving innovation across consumer categories.
What do you enjoy most about the adult beverage industry or working with beverage founders?
I appreciate the industry's exciting and fun products, emphasis on packaging, deep consumer connections, and the opportunity to work with passionate individuals pursuing their goals.
What innovations or trends in the industry are you most excited about?
I'm particularly enthusiastic about a few trends. Consumers' growing focus on health is driving demand for innovative, lower-alcohol, low-calorie, and healthier alcoholic options that offer both enhanced taste and functional benefits. Simultaneously, the increasing trend of globalization is fueling consumers' curiosity for diverse and differentiated flavors from across the globe, giving rise to culturally inspired alcohol varietals and flavors. I find this exciting and complementary to the proliferation of diverse cuisines in the US. Additionally, I’m intrigued with the growing role of AI and the transformative potential of machine learning—namely its ability to learn ever-evolving consumer tastes, drive consumer discovery, shape demand and streamline complex business operations inherent to this industry. The convergence of these three developments presents an exciting future for the industry.
Phillip Abbey is a Senior Associate at InvestBev. He previously spent a decade with Conagra Foods, where he managed brand P&L reporting, forecasting, and annual planning. He brings this experience to InvestBev’s portfolio companies, helping to uplevel and streamline their financial functions.
Phillip holds a B.S. in Accounting and Economics from Nebraska Wesleyan University. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Managerial Accountant (CMA).
How do you support founders in the InvestBev portfolio?
I provide a range of financial support services including offering key financial insights, forecasting expertise, and operational financial management guidance to help our brands flourish.
What do you enjoy most about working with beverage founders?
I have a passion for collaborating with pioneers who are transforming a well-established industry. The opportunity to work alongside beverage founders at the forefront of innovation is extremely rewarding.
What trends in the adult beverage industry are you most excited about?
One of the aspects I find most exciting about the adult beverage industry is the ongoing wave of innovations that are driving sustainability advancements. The industry's commitment to sustainability is a testament to its ability to evolve and adapt to the changing landscape.
Aniya Evans is the Operations Manager at BevStrat, Growth Beverage’s boots-on-the-ground salesforce for emerging brands. Aniya drives connection and operational efficiencies between BevStrat’s partners, field representatives and distributors, while identifying operational efficiencies. She is passionate about using market research and data to shape brand narratives and unearth industry trends.
Aniya joined the Growth Beverage team after attending Northwestern University, where she was the Corporate Liason for the Junior Achievement Org. A lifelong Chicago resident, Aniya is an unofficial ambassador for the city, and is a dedicated volunteer to several organizatoins including PAWS Chicago, Big Brother Big Sister, CASA of Cook County, RefugeeOne, and the Chicagoland Environmental Network.
What motivated you to join Growth Beverage?
Growth Beverage is dedicated to championing the underrepresented players in the industry. These are the individuals or businesses that may be overlooked, still finding their footing, and require a helping hand to navigate the established and demanding landscape of Adult Beverages. I truly believe in providing everyone with the resources they need to thrive and it's inspiring to collaborate with industry leaders who share the same passion for supporting the "underdogs" with their wealth of expertise.
What innovations in the industry are you most excited about?
I am particularly thrilled about the industry's increasing emphasis on sustainability, whether it pertains to packaging, manufacturing processes, or other areas of production, which aligns with my values and commitment to a better, more responsible future.
What do you enjoy most about working in the adult beverage industry?
The Adult Beverage Industry's boundless potential for diversity and innovation, coupled with its consumer-driven nature, keeps me engaged and excited about what the future holds. I firmly believe that by providing the right resources and support to newcomers with fresh ideas, we can continue to fuel the industry's growth and evolution.
Longtime investor and entrepreneur Ronald Diamond is the Founder and Chairman of Diamond Wealth Strategies. He represents 100 single Family Offices ranging in size from $250 million to $30 billion.
Diamond Wealth invests in private markets (private equity, venture capital, and real estate). In addition, Diamond Wealth has divisions that focus upon philanthropy, wealth transfer, investment banking, social impact, and governance.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Diamond founded Pinnacle Capital — a $250 million hedge fund which outperformed the S & P index 10 out of 10 years — before ultimately selling his company to an international investment firm. Previously, Diamond served as a Senior Managing Director at Bear Stearns. He began his career as an analyst at Drexel Burnham Lambert.
Veteran beverage alcohol expert with over a decade of experience, having worked for globally recognized wine, beer and spirit companies including most recently Pernod Ricard in addition to others such as Gruppo Campari, Jägermeister, Patron Spirits and Stoli.
With more than 30 years of experience as a Chief Executive, with the majority of that in adult-beverage organizations operating within both the public and private sectors, Jeff has built multi-million dollar companies from the ground up.
Through that process, he has overseen mergers, acquisitions, IPOs, and much more. Jeff has gained extensive experience in the retail, consumer products, and adult beverage arenas through these companies, and now he’s sharing his knowledge with other entrepreneurs through the Brindiamo Group.
Andrew Levy is Senior Vice President of Strategy and Industry Affairs at Provi, the fastest growing B2B e-commerce marketplace for the beverage alcohol industry. In his role, Andrew oversees Provi’s strategy, industry affairs, communications, publishing and corporate development teams.
Maggie Lapcewich is a C-level executive with 35+ years of progressive leadership experience across all facets of the Beverage Alcohol industry. With extensive industry and functional oversight experience, Maggie has led large commercial business units, strategy and cross functional teams as both a Supplier and Wholesaler executive.
Most recently, Maggie was Chief Growth Officer for Breakthru Beverage Group, an $8Bn distributor of beer, wine, spirits and non-alc beverages. In that role, Maggie led the company-wide strategic agenda, including development of Breakthru’s five-year strategic plan and the company’s vision to expand its North American footprint and advance its capabilities, improving EBT and delivering long term sustainable growth. The multi-faceted plan involved the development and implementation of multiple core strategic initiatives, resource deployment and new growth pathways - most notably its digital / eCommerce transformation, revenue management capability, supply chain optimization, organizational redesign, and customer / supplier portfolio strategies. In addition, Maggie led Breakthru’s M&A strategy and the integration management office (IMO) for multiple transactions, along with advancement of the company’s commercial business platforms, sales tools, data, analytics & insights and corporate communications. As a strong developer of talent and passionate leader of D&I, she was responsible for six Vice Presidents and their extended teams and was the executive sponsor of the company’s Latinx ERG - HOLA.
Previously, Maggie served as Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Communication, where she led the company’s internal and external strategy. Maggie first served Breakthru Beverage as EVP, Integration driving the pre-merger planning and implementation of the company’s goals and strategic vision of the merger between Wirtz Beverage and Charmer Sunbelt Group. Prior to forming Breakthru, Maggie led Commercial Strategy and Business Development for Wirtz Beverage Group.
During her 22-year tenure with Diageo Plc, where Maggie was a member of the Diageo North America executive leadership team she served in numerous roles, including President of Diageo Canada, President Global Tequila for Jose Cuervo and Don Julio, and President U.S. National Accounts. Additionally, she was the Diageo U.S. General Manager for the Illinois / Indiana region, as well as the Midwest Control States of Michigan, Ohio, Iowa and West Virginia. Her beverage industry experience began with E&J Gallo Winery and her CPG career started in sales with Playtex Family Products.
She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and marketing from the University of Iowa and attended the Executive Development program at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business. Maggie recently completed the Corporate Governance program at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.
Maggie is an active member of numerous professional organizations including the Executive Club of Chicago, International Women’s Forum and the National Association of Corporate Directors. She supports the Chicagoland outreach committee for Canine Companions and enjoys running, swimming, golf, and time with her Labrador Ruby.
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We are the adult beverage specialists
Our team leverages our 100 years of collective adult beverage experience to help our brands achieve success.
Our team has launched and grown many of the world’s most respected beverage brands.
Our team
Our team members have dedicated their careers to the adult beverage industry, and we bring our collective century of expertise and relationships to our partners.
Acceleration & Advisory
