Thank You for Joining Us for the
Women of the Vine & Spirits
Annual Conference

WOTVS Global CONNECT!
MARCH 8, 2022
International Women's Day

This year our conference brought together the beverage alcohol industry's top executives and experts. Attendees heard from industry leaders on the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I), how DE&I leads to business development and innovation (BD&I), as well got a first-hand look at various key initiatives coming in 2022 for our Corporate Members and the beverage alcohol industry. We heard from Keynote Speaker, Ann Mukherjee, Chairman & CEO, Pernod Ricard North America and together, we closed with our Raise Your Glass for Equality Toast as we celebrated International Women's Day (IWD)!

The theme of this year's IWD was #BreaktheBias.
Together we can forge women's equality. Collectively we can all #BreakTheBias.

Main Stage Sessions & Speakers

Women Raising the Bar: Announcing Our Industry-Specific DE&I Study in Collaboration with Deloitte, LLP

Promoting gender diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) in the workplace is a business imperative. Women of the Vine & Spirits and Deloitte have created a baseline report to offer companies in beverage alcohol the opportunity to engage in a holistic conversation around DE&I.

Until now, companies have relied on very limited data since most studies have included the beverage alcohol sector as part of a broader food and beverage industry categorization or have focused solely on larger companies. Through Executive Interviews, individual surveys and company-wide questionnaires, Deloitte has performed an analysis and identified areas where the beverage alcohol industry is seeing positive change as well as areas to drive improvement.

This study provides a first of its kind industry-specific report to establish a standardized framework from which to measure company performance against DE&I benchmarks going forward. This standardized framework will allow companies to evaluate leading practices and hold themselves accountable for building more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplaces.

In this Main Stage session you get a first-hand look at the results of this pivotal study and hear from industry leaders why it is important, why they are taking part and what is coming next.

Panelists

Olga Gareeva, Managing Director, Retail & Consumer Products, Deloitte Consulting, LLP (Moderator)

Marc Hirten, President & COO, Frederick Wildman and Sons, Ltd.

Dana Pellicano, Vice President | Global, US and Canada Food + Beverage, Marriott International

Ryan Robinson, Director of Research, Deloitte, LLP

Melody Zhang, Chief Human Resources Officer, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates

The Importance of Economic Inclusion & Gender Diversity: Introducing the Women Powered Brands™ Database

Women Powered Brands is a website containing a searchable database created by Women of the Vine & Spirits. This database will be the go-to resource for buyers, wholesalers, importers, media, supplier diversity procurement and event planners to easily identify gender diverse brands in the beverage alcohol industry. Inherently, this database addresses the importance of sourcing from gender diverse businesses which in turn supports economic empowerment and inclusion, building strong economics and communities.

Our goal at WOTVS is to provide critical content about diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) as well as business development and innovation (BD&I). This programming squarely satisfies our focus on working with our Corporate Members to be game-changers in beverage alcohol, paving new and innovative ways to highlight the brilliant products you produce, and getting them into the hands of conscious consumers.

In this Main Stage session you get a first-hand look at this searchable database, the phased approach to market, and hear from buyers and industry leaders why this is important for DE&I and a game-changer for beverage alcohol.

Panelists

Deborah Brenner, Founder & CEO, Women of the Vine & Spirits (Moderator)

Gus Bozzo, Executive Vice President, National Accounts, Breakthru Beverage Group

Annie Morrison, National Account Manager, Brown-Forman

Liz Paquette, Senior Director - Brand, Drizly

Katie Smith, Merchandising Director - Wine, Walmart

Chad Sokol, Vice President / General Merchandise Manager, Wine/Liquor, Costco Wholesale

It Cannot Wait: Transformational Program to Create a Safer Workplace Free of Harassment in Beverage Alcohol

Over the past year, we have read the explosive articles detailing graphic accounts of sexual harassment, abuse, sexual accusations, and toxicity in the beverage alcohol industry. We must address this issue and adhere to higher standards. It cannot wait.

After launching the Women of the Vine & Spirits (WOTVS) Individual Pledge of Commitment to End Workplace Harassment in September 2020, WOTVS was contacted and challenged by a passionate team from Pernod-Ricard North America and Corby Spirit & Wine in Canada to explore ways to create a united front to keep employees safe as they work across all three-tiers. Companies may have a very robust reporting system and strict internal policies to address sexual harassment, but they are unable to protect their employees that work in the field. We needed to find a solution to protect employees working in the supply chain in the three-tier system.

After extensive research and numerous explorative conversations, WOTVS hired CARE Impact Partners, as we knew having an expert lead this charge would be critical to our success. CARE Impact Partners, the advisory services arm of CARE.org, combines the power of CARE with the rigor and business acumen of a management consulting practice. Thanks to the collaboration and financial support of Pernod-Ricard North America and Corby Spirit & Wine, CARE will be working with WOTVS to create a customized CEO Pledge and Standardized Guidelines addressing sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse as well as gender-based violence specifically for the beverage alcohol industry.

In this Main Stage session you hear from the leaders in our industry on why they are taking part in this important initiative, and what this means for the future of our industry.

Panelists

Kayla Campbell, VP, Total Talent, Diversity & Enterprise-wide Development, Pernod Ricard North America (Moderator)

Melissa Linehan, VP, Commercial Marketing, Pernod Ricard North America

Emily Patrick, Interim Managing Director, CARE Impact Partners

Kristin Perales, VP, People, Stone Brewing

Chris Swonger, President & CEO, Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS)

Keynote Speaker

Ann Mukherjee
Chairman & CEO, Pernod Ricard North America

Alcohol devastated her childhood, now liquor executive takes on irresponsible drinking

After alcohol led to tragedies in her childhood, Ann Mukherjee is taking on irresponsible drinking as CEO of Pernod Ricard North America, one of the largest wine and spirits companies in the world. She speaks with CBS News' Mireya Villarreal, HERE.

In December 2019, Ann Mukherjee joined Pernod Ricard North America as Chairman & CEO. The first industry outsider and woman of color to assume the position, she has demonstrated from day one her ability to advance through ambiguity, while delivering both ROI and ROR (return on responsibility).

 Ann is transforming the Pernod Ricard North America business to be laser-focused on driving the science of predictable consumer demand. She’s igniting growth across the portfolio by improving speed to market; and is building trusted brands attuned to the current climate of culture.

 Ann is unafraid to put resources behind the cultural issues that matter most to the people and communities the company and its brands serve. Ann led the Absolut team in taking a stand on consent, forcing a critical conversation on a taboo topic for the alcohol industry; she rallied the company’s manufacturing facilities to produce hand sanitizer in support of the federal and local government’s response to COVID-19; she directed the company’s $1 million investment in racial justice nonprofits; and she’s currently calling on associations, social media platforms and brands across industries to join an open source, consumer movement to help stop hate speech online.

 Ann joined Pernod Ricard from S.C. Johnson and Company, where she broke ground as their first-ever Global Chief Marketing Officer and, later, Global Chief Commercial Officer overseeing a $12 billion business division in more than 90 markets. She previously made a decade-long impact at PepsiCo, most recently as President of Global Snacks and PepsiCo Global Insights. As CMO for Frito-Lay North America, she created a mantra of “Transform Tomorrow Today” to create breakthrough marketing. She spearheaded the multiyear Crash the Super Bowl campaign, which aired fan-made ads in a radical first for the advertising industry. Ann began her strategic marketing journey at Kraft Foods Group where she worked over a decade, after starting her career at Citibank Diners Club. Ann graduated with two bachelor’s degrees, one in Economics and a second in Comparative Religious Theology, and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

 For the courageous moves she has made throughout her 30-year career, Ann was recognized among Forbes’ Top 50 Most Influential CMOs; named Marketer of the Year by Brand Week; and earned an ADCOLOR Legend Award. She has also been nominated for Wine Enthusiast’s Person of the Year and PRWeek’s Most Purposeful CEO.