Dr. Cynthia Bentzen-Mercer is a USA Today national best-selling author, international
speaker, and board-certified executive coach with over three decades of global executive leadership experience across multiple industries and is the co-founder of The Zeal of the Heel. Dr. Cynthia’s expertise centers on her ability to actualize human potential, detailed in her book Now, Near, Next: A Practical Guide for Mid-Career Women to Move from Professional Serendipity to Intentional Advancement.

Dr. Cynthia has delivered compelling content to the CDC, YWCA, St. Louis Forum, National Beer Wholesalers Association, Deaconess Health, Edward Jones, Ardent Health, The Wynn Las Vegas, Willis Towers Watson, Hightower Wealth Advisors, LEAP HR Healthcare, The Beryl Institute, to name a few. Combining humor, real-world examples, and actionable takeaways, Dr. Cynthia is a business expert focused on amplifying women in business, building high-performance cultures, and actualizing peak performance.

Her unique approach to maximizing human performance has been featured in Improving HR and Heather McGowan’s The Empathy Advantage, on Daring to Leap with Loree Philip, This is Women’s Work with Nicole Kalil, Success Stories of Professional Women with Mel Stanley, and on numerous news outlets. Dr. Cynthia has a Ph.D. in social psychology from Walden University, an MBA, and a Senior Professional Human Resources (SPHR) designation.

Kimberly, a co-founder and co-chairman of Talent Plus, an international talent solutions company, bestselling author, executive coach, and speaker, helps leaders achieve their highest potential through talent-based strategies and solutions. Kimberly is committed to helping others realize their potential and create a leadership legacy that has an enduring impact and ensures a fulfilling and meaningful future for others. 

Through her leadership, Kimberly has delivered tremendous outcomes for some of the world’s most well-known brands, including Estée Lauder, Ferragamo, Delta Airlines, UCLA Health, University of Kansas Health System, The Ritz-Carlton, and KSL Resorts. Kimberly has an MBA from Pepperdine University and an undergraduate degree from The University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 

She has received the Great Place to Work Institute ALL Leadership Award, the Business Excellence Award from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the national Delta Gamma Shield Award. Kimberly is a Wall Street Journal and two-time USA Today bestselling author. Passionate about giving back, Kimberly sits on four boards—Nelnet, Provider Trust, Tabitha, and Artists for Trauma, is a trustee for the University of Nebraska and Lincoln Community Foundations and sits on several global future of work consortiums.

When it comes to building brand loyalty with emerging LDA consumers, few companies have been as successful as Barstool Sports.

During Erika Ayers Badan’s eight-year tenure as CEO of Barstool, she helped grow the popular sports website into a $450 million digital media juggernaut that reaches 66 million unique users every month, two-thirds of whom are under 30.

Ayers Badan was named one of the “Most Powerful Women in Sports” by Forbes and Adweek for her work in diversifying Barstool’s revenue streams and expanding its reach with consumers through merchandising, streaming and podcasting, and PPV programming.

Since retiring from Barstool Sports in 2024 — after increasing the company’s revenue by 5,000% during her tenure — Ayers Badan has since taken on a new challenge as CEO of Food52, a platform that connects a global community of expert and amateur chefs.

As Chief Marketing Officer at Molson Coors, Sofia Colucci brings passion, creativity and strong collaboration to everything she does. The Uruguayan-Canadian marketer first joined Molson Coors leading North American Innovation then progressed to the role of Global VP of Marketing for Miller Brands prior to rising to CMO in 2023. Sofia has a proven track record of driving brands in culture, leading turn-arounds and building breakthrough innovations. She has 20 years of marketing and innovation experiences across multiple countries and industries, including 8 years at PepsiCo focusing primarily on the nutrition portfolio.

Sofia’s work has transformed brands like Miller Lite, with global campaign launches like Tastes Like Miller Time and leading Molson Coors’s first Super Bowl ad in over 30 years with the launch of the High Stakes Beer Ad. During her time on innovation Sofia was credited for transforming the company’s approach through faster go-to-market capabilities and developing a robust pipeline beyond beer.

Sofia has been recognized by Campaign’s Top 50 CMOs, Crain’s 40 Under 40 and Brand Innovators’ Top 100 Women in Marketing. Her team’s work has won multiple awards including Cannes, Effies, and D&AD.

Merrilee Kick is the CEO/Founder of BuzzBallz/Southern Champion LLC, the only woman-owned Distillery/Winery/Brewery combination in the United States. The Texas-based company manufactures ready-to-drink cocktails called “BuzzBallz” and “Uptown Cocktails”, as well as spirits like rum, vodka, gin, and bourbon. The family-operated company sells products in all 50 states and 29 countries and is home to over 1000 employees. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Montana, an MBA from Texas Woman’s University, and she is recently an alumnus of Harvard Business School. She is married to her husband of 36 years, and has two children, who also work in the business with her. Merrilee received the Dallas Business Journal’s Most Admired CEO Award, EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Top Women In Grocery Award, and WPO/Chase Bank’s “50 Fastest” Woman Owned companies in the United States. She is also a winner of the Enterprising Women of the year award, and Enterprising Women’s Top 20 Award.

With the endless number of advertising, merchandising, and marketing tools at our disposal, it’s easy to get caught up in trends and lose sight of a marketer’s core purpose: to understand, connect and motivate the customer. From her high school days as a yearbook layout artist to Chief Product Officer for of one of the world’s largest integrated energy companies, Kim James has been hard at work finding new ways to create indelible connections with people.

Kim saw a career in advertising as a path to exploring the art and science of communication. This emerging passion led her to the advertising program at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. It proved a perfect fit for her love of advertising and curiosity for business.

She got her start via an internship with a drug store retailer which quickly led to a full-time position. The defining moment was a private label cosmetic brand launch that saluted women as being beautiful on the inside and out. It was a huge hit and spurred Kim’s 30+ year career that has taken on her a journey of bridging brand and retail. And, this is where passion turned to obsession. From here, Kim landed in the convenience retail channel. This is where she has refined her expertise in balancing the pragmatic and the dramatic of retail marketing and merchandising. Multi-national retail is a fast, bottom line oriented culture where pennies are optimized. 

Today, Kim has a deep understanding of the levers and dials that need constant fine-tuning to find the perfect bit of magic. This relentless refinement is how you stay relevant. But in order to gain customer trial and loyalty, Kim fully realizes it goes beyond mechanics. You have to find a way to relate, connect and inspire customers. That’s a skill you develop by having an interest in people; their personalities, their habits, their behaviors. And what makes Kim special is her ability to bring humanity to a bottom-line business.

Colleen Lucas is responsible for overseeing A-B’s work in the community from disaster relief and economic impact to responsible drinking and environmental stewardship programs. She also oversees the world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales and A-B Brewery Experiences. Colleen has been with Anheuser-Busch for nearly 14 years, holding leadership positions in Brand Marketing and Innovations prior to her current role.

In recent years, Colleen and her team have helped deliver over five million cans of emergency drinking water to volunteer fire departments and communities across the country, responding to natural disasters and fires. Additionally, she has spearheaded the launch of A-B corporate campaigns including That’s Who We Are, featuring the people behind the beer; and Choose Beer Grown Here, highlighting A-B’s adoption of the U.S. Farmed certification for products made with U.S grown agricultural ingredients. Colleen and her team have also forged a first of its kind coalition with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and Uber to take a new approach to drunk driving prevention.

Colleen earned a BA in Psychology from DePauw University and an MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. She lives in St. Louis with her husband Justin and their three children.

Brittany Crosby is the Director/DMM of Beverages at Walgreens with over a decade of retail experience behind her. Brittany is responsible for leading the regulated and non-regulated category teams at Walgreens. In the adult beverage space, she leads the strategy development with her teams and strives to ensure Walgreens is top of mind for customer needs. Prior to this role, she was the DMM of Electronics, Celebrations, Gen Merch and Financial Services, and throughout her tenure, has managed multiple categories like Cough Cold & Allergy, Wine & Spirits, Electronics and Owned Brand OTC.  She is a graduate of the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Journalism, and in her spare time enjoys cooking, golfing and spending time with friends and family.

Sinead Carey is the Director of Sales – Beer at Breakthru Beverage California. She joined Breakthru following the acquisition of Wine Warehouse in April 2023. She holds a leadership role that includes overseeing a team of craft beer specialists, working with supplier partners on planning, market execution, and collaborating with the sales teams to drive performance in the category. With more than 20 years of successful experience working in the beer industry, Sinead has held roles in sales, distributor management, channel management, and trade marketing with Star Brand Imports, Heineken USA and Anchor Brewing. Sinead is an Irish native and a graduate of Trinity College Dublin. She is a Cicerone Certified Beer Server and was awarded the Knighthood of the Belgian Brewers Paddle in 2022.

Portia Dowell-Simmons brings over a decade of experience as an Executive Administrative Assistant to her role, currently supporting the President of Glazer’s Beer and Beverage, LLC. Her extensive background in this field has given her a unique vantage point to drive and implement impactful diversity and inclusion strategies within the company.

In her role, Portia collaborates closely with top executives to drive equity and representation across the company. She leads employee resource groups and diversity training programs, contributing significantly to the company’s growth and transformation.

In addition to her corporate role, Portia is a dedicated wife, mother, Girl Scout mentor, and advocate for autism awareness. Her commitment to fostering inclusive environments extends beyond the workplace, as she actively supports and mentors young girls, helping them build confidence and leadership skills. Her advocacy work for autism awareness focuses on promoting understanding and creating supportive communities for individuals and families affected by autism.

Portia shares her expertise on integrating diversity strategies into organizational practices. She holds a degree in Marketing and is a certified Diversity and Inclusion Professional, actively participating in community initiatives to support and empower diverse communities.

Connie Kim is the Head of Talent Management and Belonging at Heineken USA (HUSA) where she is responsible for developing the strategy for attracting, retaining, and developing the best people for the company while embedding and cultivating a culture of inclusion in all talent, learning, and business matters. Her favorite HEINEKEN beers are Heineken® Silver and Tiger.
She brings a business mindset to all talent and belonging matters thanks to her first career in the world of finance where she wore the hats of leverage finance banker and junior equity research analyst for 12+ years at Societe Generale, Citigroup, Lehman Brothers, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Thereafter, a welcomed career pivot into talent management and diversity, equity, and inclusion was what brought meaning back into work for Connie. Prior to HUSA, she had the fortune to work in this capacity for global organizations such as Thomson Reuters, NYU Stern School of Business, and Yale School of Management.

Connie holds a BS in Business Administration from Boston University and an MBA from Cornell University. In her free time, Connie loves playing competitive tennis, practicing yoga, traveling to places that are best explored with a backpack, cooking various cuisines, scuba diving, and watching Korean dramas

Natalie Burbidge is Senior Vice President, Integrated Business Planning and Execution for Constellation Brands. In her 17 years at Constellation, she has held various roles across the organization’s supply chain functions within Wine & Spirits, corporate, and Beer. Natalie currently oversees the Beer Sales &
Operations Planning (S&OP) process, End-to-End Supply Chain Planning (Demand, Network Supply, New Product Development) and the Customer Management organization. She received her Masters in Business
Administration in 2013 and resides in Chicago at Constellation’s Beer headquarters.

Laura Merritt is an executive in the Food & Beverage industry with deep experience in Consumer Product Goods, spanning marketing, innovation, commercialization, and manufacturing. Known for her entrepreneurial mindset, Laura excels in driving the growth of brands, businesses, and talent.

Throughout her career, Laura has specialized in premium and natural brands across several categories. Her marketing experience spans traditional tactics as well as progressive levers, like field marketing, digital and influencer. Laura is adept at launching products, securing distribution, and executing marketing campaigns that drive velocity. She also has a track record of managing brands through significant growth phases and preparing them for acquisition. Laura has been on the leadership team of brands acquired by Mars, Campbell and Snyders Lance.

Laura joined Diageo in 2023 as Diageo Beer Company’s Chief Marketing Officer, where she spearheaded the development of the company’s Pre-Mix strategy. She now serves as President of Beer & Pre-Mix, overseeing the fastest-growing segment in the beverage alcohol industry with a portfolio that includes iconic brands like Guinness and Smirnoff Ice. Previously, Laura led marketing and innovation at KIND Snacks, driving expansion into six new categories. She was also Vice President and General Manager for Campbell’s Potato Chips Business unit, managing brands including Kettle Brand and Cape Cod Potato Chips.

Laura is on the board of Petit Pot and enjoys advising other emerging brands. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MPP from Harvard Kennedy School and a BA from the University of Missouri. Laura is a “nomadic Texan” and has lived in seven states.

Rosalie Kennedy is the Director of Marketing at Athletic Brewing Company, where she leads the company’s strategic marketing initiatives. Her industry-leading work has shaped Athletic’s brand presence and helped define the non-alcoholic beer category. With a background in brand management, Rosalie previously honed her expertise at Boston Beer Company, where she played a pivotal role in shaping the brand strategy for Angry Orchard Hard Cider. Her career also includes notable agency experience in New York City, where she coordinated high-profile campaigns for Heineken USA’s portfolio of brands. Outside of the office, Rosalie is actively involved in her community and has volunteered her time to small business growth initiatives. She is also a certified yoga instructor and volunteer for the Boys and Girls Club of Boston. She graduated with a double major in marketing and psychology from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

Senior Supply Chain leadership team member and HR Lead for the US Mark Anthony Supply Chain business. Responsible for the overall People Strategy for over 980 team members across the corporate Supply Chain function and three new breweries.

Key Achievements:

Led the development of the People strategy & staffing for the new manufacturing organization of Mark Anthony Brewing resulting in moving from 100% co-packed to 85% produced in-house across three new state of the art breweries for a product portfolio including White Claw, Mike’s Hard Lemonade, Cayman Jack, Harder & MXD hiring over 800 new roles.

Created company programs for new manufacturing teams including an hourly performance management framework, reward and engagement strategies, annual award celebration events and DEI strategy.

Born in San Diego to two Naval Officers whose jobs had their family residing in numerous locales on both coasts plus a tour in South Korea, Bridget Smith knows about being a new kid and a chameleon. Thankfully, these skills would serve her well in her future career path.

After studying photography and film production at VCU, she (naturally) ended up in beer. Through her 21 year career in the beer business, she has worked on all three tiers. Starting as a bartender, then manager and beer buyer, at a well renowned craft beer bar in Richmond, VA she then jumped into distribution as a sales rep for Specialty Beverage. Next came managing sales in 10 states up and down the east coast for a high-end craft and import beer supplier, Twelve Percent, where she eventually ran their entire self-distribution sales team and operations in NYC, Long Island and NJ. After desiring to put down some roots and start a family, she became the Director of Operations at Origlio’s craft centric distributor, 31st and Wharton. Two years later, she was promoted to Director of Operations for Origlio Beverage Philadelphia, where she excitedly jumped into the deep end and got to work. When she is not explaining to grown men why they can’t take hour long naps on pallets, she enjoys spending time with her husband and 3 year old son.

Tandy has been named Executive Vice President of Breakthru Beverage California, effective Dec. 1. In her new role, she will oversee all market and business operations in California, focusing on growth strategies for supplier and customer partners.

With over 35 years at United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) and its predecessor SUPERVALU, Tandy has held various senior positions, including Vice President and Senior Vice President roles across different regions. Her extensive experience spans merchandising, category management, marketing, and sales.

Tandy holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Southern Illinois University and has been recognized as one of the Top Women in Grocery by Progressive Grocers. She is also a member of the Network of Executive Women. Based in Los Angeles, she will operate out of the Commerce office.