Previously, Crespo served as president of company’s Mexico business unit. He led operations across the company’s second-largest global market, including coordinating a seven-year, $8.2 billion system investment plan with local Coca-Cola bottlers.

Crespo also served as president of the South Latin business unit, where he managed company operations in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay; as vice president of operations for the Brazil business unit; as general manager in Chile; and as commercial director of Coca-Cola FEMSA in Buenos Aires. Crespo joined the company in 1989 in Ecuador.

Crespo is an industrial engineer with a degree from Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia.

The company is one of the largest non-alcoholic beverage companies in the United States with brands that include Poland Spring®, Perrier® and Nestlé® Pure Life®. Nestlé Waters North America has more than 8,500 employees and 28 factories.

Fernando has been a part of the Nestlé organization for more than 25 years. Prior to joining Nestlé Waters North America, Fernando was President of Nestlé Purina, Latin America and Caribbean. Fernando obtained a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Engineering from Northwestern University and an MBA from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.

Judy has been ranked in industry surveys such as Institutional Investor, Starmine and The Wall Street Journal’s “Best on the Street.” She also serves as the sponsor of the GIR Asian Professionals Network. Judy joined Goldman Sachs in 1998 and was named managing director in 2013. Prior to joining the firm, Judy worked at an asset management firm as a buy-side analyst. Judy serves as the treasurer of Bottomless Closet, a nonprofit organization established to meet the needs of New York City women in transition from unemployment to work. Judy earned an MBA from New York University's Stern School of Business and a BS in Communications from Cornell University.

Carlos has been an equities analyst or an M&A banker in the beverage space since 1987. He has been ranked in the Institutional Investor poll over 15 times and in the WSJ survey of top global stock pickers. He holds a B.A. in Economics from Rutgers University.

Caroline has followed sectors including Restaurants, Beverages, Household/Personal Care and Lodging/Cruise Lines. Prior to joining Macquarie, Caroline spent eight years as a Managing Director and Senior Analyst in the research department at CLSA. She also headed the Consumer Research team at UBS, where she was COO in US Research and Chair of the Investment Review Committee. Caroline brings a broad and deep perspective to the industries she covers resulting from an extensive network of strong business relationships, expertise in Asia from her eight years at a leading Asian research firm, and her long-term coverage of the sectors. She has made numerous media appearances including CNBC’s “Mad Money with Jim Cramer” and Bloomberg. Additionally, she has been recognized multiple times in the Institutional Investor All-Star Survey and The Wall Street Journal Survey for stock picking and earnings accuracy.

Mr. Kent joined The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta in 1978, holding a variety of marketing and operations leadership positions over the course of his career. In 1985, he became General Manager of Coca-Cola Turkey and Central Asia. Beginning in 1989, he served as President of the Company's East Central Europe Division and Senior Vice President of Coca-Cola International, with responsibility for 23 countries.

In 1995, Mr. Kent was named Managing Director of Coca-Cola Amatil-Europe, covering bottling operations in 12 countries. In 1999, he became President and CEO of the Efes Beverage Group, a diversified beverage company with Coca-Cola and beer operations across Southeast Europe, Turkey and Central Asia.

Mr. Kent returned to The Coca-Cola Company in 2005 as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company's North Asia, Eurasia and Middle East Group, an organization serving a broad and diverse region that included China, Japan and Russia. Less than a year later, he became President of Coca-Cola International, leading all of the Company's operations outside North America. In 2006, he was named President and Chief Operating Officer, and he became CEO in 2008.

Mr. Kent holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of Hull in England and a Master of Science degree in Administrative Sciences from Cass Business School, City University London.

Active in the global business community, Mr. Kent is the past Chairman of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum and a member of its Chairman’s Community, a member of the Concordia Leadership Council, a past Chairman of the U.S.-China Business Council, a past board member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, and Chairman Emeritus of the U.S. ASEAN Business Council. He serves on the boards of 3M, Special Olympics International, Catalyst, Cambridge China Development Trust and Emory University.

Swire Coca-Cola produces, sells, and distributes Coca-Cola and other beverages, including more than 300 brands, across 13 states to a population of 28 million people. The company has quadrupled in size since 2014 and now employs 6,700 associates. Swire territory includes parts of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Headquartered in Draper, Utah, Swire Coca-Cola, USA is a subsidiary of Swire Pacific Limited as part of its beverages division.

Hal spent more than 30 years as a leader within the Coca-Cola System, holding roles in general management, strategy, operations, marketing, sales and revenue management. Since leaving Coca-Cola in 2013, Hal has focused on helping emerging beverage brands drive growth and profitability. He was a founding member of InterContinental Beverage Capital, a New-York-based merchant bank focused on advisory services and investment in the CPG and beverage industries, and served as CEO and Board member of AQUAhydrate, a premium bottled water company.

Hal currently serves as Chairman of the Board and President of Certified Management Group, Inc., an outsourced sales marketing and brand management company. He also serves on the boards of Celsius Holdings Inc., a growing fitness beverage, and Rocky Mountain High Brands, a maker, marketer and seller of CBD products.

Pete has been instrumental in establishing CMG’s early mover status as an outsourced sales and marketing agency and brand management company focused on high-growth, independent segments of the food-away-from-home channel. Before joining CMG, Pete was vice president of sales for DS Waters. He spent 14 years at Coca-Cola Enterprises in sales and operations leadership roles of increasing responsibility and began his career with Frito-Lay, where he spent 11 years. Pete holds a bachelor of science degree in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University.

Bryan was named GM of the Pepsi-Starbucks North American Coffee Partnership (NACP) in 2013. In his role Bryan leads the full P&L for the joint venture. This cross-functional organization of 90+ passionate coffee professionals spans across Innovation, Marketing, Sales, Finance, Insights, and Supply Chain. The NACP Starbucks coffee portfolio includes the >$1B Frappuccino brand, as well as DoubleShot, Cold Brew, Iced Coffee, Iced Espresso, Refreshers… and soon to add exciting new growth platforms in 2019.

During his 28 years at PepsiCo Bryan has held positions in both the DSD and Warehouse go-to-market systems, in Brand Marketing, Shopper Marketing, Sales Strategy, Category Management, and Finance.

Graduating with a business degree at Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada, Bryan also holds a Certified Public Accountant designation. He lives with his wife and two sons in Ridgefield, CT. They are passionate about hockey and outdoor adventure.

The Non Alcohol brands consist of Teavana RTD Craft Iced Tea in a partnership with Starbucks, Hiball energy and Alta Palla sparkling water. Prior to this role, Randy was the first employee in A-B’s non alc business as General Manager for Teavana.

Past roles include serving as Vice President of Sales for Anheuser-Busch Beer on the Walmart and Sam’s Club business and a variety of Category and Space Manager roles for accounts like Walmart, Target, Kroger, Food Lion, Albertsons, Safeway and HEB.

Randy earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Indiana University and MBA from University of Arkansas. He currently resides in Montclair, NJ with his wife Hayley and children Reed and Ila.

Under his leadership, PureCircle has pioneered the development of the high purity stevia industry into a mainstream ingredient with widespread use for food and beverage products. The company now has clients and operations on all continents and helps to support about 25,000 independent farmers globally through the production of stevia.

Highlighting the growing development of the business and its leadership position within the high purity stevia industry, PureCircle was recently listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange in October 2015 (LSE: PURE).

Due to Malsagov’s vision, today more than four billion people around the world have access to stevia sweetened food and beverage products.

Major grocery stores worldwide. In 2015 Normandin launched DIRTY LEMON, the world’s first direct-to-consumer beverage brand that sells exclusively by text message. Backed by A-List celebrities and business leaders alike, DIRTY LEMON is recognized nationally by media outlets such as New York Times, Vogue, Fast Company and AdWeek. In developing this proprietary technology, Normandin built a conversational commerce platform that provides effortless transactions, bypassing existing distribution inefficiencies, to improve the customer’s experience. Normandin recognizes a stagnant industry primed for reinvention and aims to expand his innovative distribution strategy to meet the rapidly evolving preferences of the modern consumer while building the beverage company of the future.

While at Bloomberg’s Atlanta bureau, Duane was a regular contributor to Businessweek magazine and to Bloomberg television and radio. He also appeared on programs including NPR’s Marketplace. Most of Duane’s time at the AJC was spent covering local, state and federal government, as well as politics. He joined the Business Desk in 2006 to cover beverages.

Duane graduated from Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, where he met his wife of more than two decades. Laura Stanford is Beverage Digest’s marketing & subscriptions manager. They have a daughter in high school and a son in college. Duane is a serial PTA president and volunteer, holds a now rarely-used pilot’s license, and enjoys competitive tennis.

The Center, which launched in 2018, incubates innovative startups and links entrepreneurs to academia, industry, and government in order to advance the transition from a linear take, make, waste economy to a restorative one in which materials are shared, re-used, and continuously cycled. Prior to joining Closed Loop Partners, Kate served in New York City government for more than a decade, most recently as Senior Vice President at the NYC Economic Development Corporation. Kate previously served as the Executive Director of the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission, where she managed the agency’s strategy, policy, communications, operations, budget, research and stakeholder engagement, and oversaw the landmark designation of more than 7,000 historic buildings. Kate earned a Bachelor’s degree in History from Cornell University and a Master’s degree in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania.

He has repeatedly been recruited to lead companies (generally $100 million to $2 billion) that need a new growth trajectory. He has led four private equity-backed companies and has twenty years in P&L leadership roles with Fortune 50 consumer and B2B companies operating on six continents.

Lighthouse operates eleven separate companies servicing multiple Western Region states. Tim previously served as President and COO of U.S. Coffee, President of Wireless Consulting Group and Vice President of Pinnacle Wireless.