ADVISORS & BOARD MEMBERS

Sheldon “Shelly” Stein serves as President of Southern Glazer’s. Previously, he served as President and CEO of Glazer’s. Before beginning his tenure with Glazer’s in 2010, Stein had been a Vice Chairman of Global Investment Banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch since March 2008. In this role, he served as Glazer’s lead advisor and had worked closely with the Glazer Family and executive team as well as its suppliers on many strategic fronts. Before joining Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Stein was a Senior Managing Director at Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. for over 20 years. Prior to Bear Stearns, Stein served as a partner in the Dallas law firm of Hughes & Luce.   He serves on the Board of Directors of Tailored Brands, Inc., ALON USA Partners, LP as well as Ace Cash Express.   Stein received his J.D. from Harvard Law School and his Bachelor’s degree Magna Cum Laude from Brandeis University, where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. 

Mr. Watson was instrumental in structuring the transaction pursuant to which Celebrity Brands Spirits acquired an interest in Aviation Gin in partnership with Ryan Reynolds. He served in the same capacity with respect to Brown Sugar Bourbon and Jamie Foxx, and currently serves on the Board of BSB.  Previously, Mr. Watson was the President of Direct Holdings Global, LLC (“DHG”), a leading direct-to-consumer marketing and sales company, best-known for its iconic “Time Life” infomercials featuring compilation collections of classic television, comedy, and music.  Mr. Watson began his career as an M&A and private equity lawyer at the global law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, where he represented clients such as One Equity Partners (the private equity arm of JP Morgan), Odyssey Investment Partners, Leonard Green & Partners, and Investcorp. 

David Edwab is a seasoned entrepreneurial executive with deep financial and operational experience. He served as an executive, director, or advisor to numerous public and private companies in various sectors, including Men’s Wearhouse, Joseph Abboud, Joseph A. Banks, Aeropostale, Seven For All Mankind, Trans American Auto Parts, Stewart Weitzman, Vitamin Shoppe, Dimensions and Alexandra UK, Moores Retail Group Canada, New York and Company, Mr. Edwab was the principal partner in the formation of Aviation American Gin LLC, and BSB Brown Sugar Bourbon LLC.  He is an “inactive” certified public accountant and was a partner with Deloitte and Touche leading regional groups in the capital markets, retail, and consumer sectors. He served as a Senior Managing Director and as Retail Group Head in Bear Stearns Investment Banking and as an Operating Partner and Senior Advisor to Irving Place Capital (predecessor to Bear Stearns Merchant Banking) that managed a multi-billion-dollar portfolio of companies.  

Jim has over 35 years of experience in the beverage alcohol industry and is the retired COO and Executive VP (1994-2010) of Brown-Forman, one of the world’s top ten wine and spirits companies headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.   Prior to joining Brown-Forman, he was Executive VP of Sales and Marketing of Seagram Classics Wine Company in New York and California (1984-1994).   Jim began his beverage alcohol career with Nestle/ Beringer in 1974.  He is a former three-term Chairman of the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS), a national trade association based in Washington, D.C., that represents producers and marketers of distilled spirits in the U.S. and around the world. Additionally, he previously chaired The Century Council, an organization designed to reduce underage drinking and drunk driving.   Jim currently chairs the board of First Beverage Group, a private equity firm focused on beverages, both non-alcohol and alcohol. In addition, he is on the advisory board of a major beverage alcohol distributor in the U.S., chairs the advisory board for the College of Business at San Jose State University, serves in an advisory capacity for a 5th Generation family-owned winery, and recently retired from the board of MGP Ingredients, a leading supplier of premium distilled spirits and specialty wheat proteins and starches.   He was a Naval Flight Officer from 1968-1974 and flew in the Naval Reserve until 1981. Jim has a B.S. from San Jose State and he and his wife of 53 years, Tina, split their time between Carmel and Calistoga. 

Chester Brandes is a spirits industry veteran with 40 years of experience in both the US domestic and international markets; he has consistently brought passion, creativity and unparalleled commitment to each of his successful business ventures.   Since the sale of Bulldog Gin to Davide Campari S.p.A.in March 2017, Brandes has been doing consulting as well as investing in a number of start-ups in the beverage industry.   Brandes joined the Board of Directors of Bulldog gin in 2013 and in 2016 became operational at the request of the Founder and CEO of the company. In his role as Managing Director Americas he was responsible for the development and execution of the brand’s commercial strategy in the U.S., Canada and Latin America.   Prior to that Brandes was appointed President and CEO of Imperial Brands, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Belvédère S.A. There, his responsibilities included setting the strategic direction and vision of the company and overseeing the growth and development of its flagship brand, Sobieski Vodka in North America.   Brandes oversaw the successful launch of Sobieski Vodka on the American market in August 2007 and in 2011, made it the fastest new vodka brand ever to reach sales of one million cases in the U.S.   Until January 2007, Brandes was Vice President, International Markets at Cruzan, Ltd., where he conceived and executed the strategic plan for launching Cruzan Rum on the international marketplace over a five-year period. Moreover, he initiated and was the architect of the Cruzan relationship with Vin & Sprit AB (owners of Absolut Vodka), which eventually led to “V&S” acquiring 100 percent of the brand and the company.   A significant portion of Brandes’ career (1988-2000) was spent working for the Altia Group, Helsinki, Finland, former owners of Finlandia Vodka. He was appointed President and CEO of Finlandia Vodka Americas, N.Y. (Altia’s U.S. subsidiary) in 1989 and in addition to being accountable for all sales, marketing and brand profit in the Americas; Asia Pacific, Africa, Middle East and global duty-free were added to the scope of the New York subsidiaries’ responsibilities in 1998. In this position, he played a major role in initiating a joint venture with Brown-Forman, creating a strategic partnership between brand owner and importer that was unique in the spirits industry. Brandes’ input into the innovative “Renaissance” program, which included the redesign of the Finlandia bottle, as well as the development of new image enhancing advertising, helped reposition Finlandia among the leading premium imported vodkas in the U.S.   Previously, Brandes was Managing Director of Sempe USA, where he successfully launched Sempe Armagnac in the U.S. and made it the number one selling premium Armagnac in the country. In 1978, Brandes became Western Division Vice President for Glenmore Distilleries, where he contributed to the growth of Amaretto di Saronno and Remy Martin Cognacs. Prior to his work at Glenmore, Brandes worked at Monsieur Henri Wines (PepsiCo) where, in 1975, he helped engineer the successful launch of Stolichnaya Vodka in the Midwest. It was an era of strong anti-Communist sentiment, when all Soviet-themed products were taboo, but Brandes saw great potential in marketing this “forbidden fruit;” 10 years and one million cases later, he was proven correct. 

Rudy has twenty years of experience in the beverage alcohol industry, most recently serving as CEO of Stoli Group, a position he held since May of 2018.  Before joining Stoli Group Rudy spent ten years at Heaven Hill where he held several senior level positions across both finance and sales. Those included Finance Director the the East Region, VP sales for the NY Division, VP, sales for the Florida division, Regional VP for the East Region, and VP, General Manager for the SGWS Region.  Rudy played a key role in developing the overall commercial strategy for Heaven Hill.     Rudy got his start in the spirits industry with Allied Domecq, a company eventually acquired by Pernod Ricard.  Rudy also worked for Heineken, USA as corporate controller.  Prior to his corporate roles, Rudy spent three years at the accounting firm KPMG.  He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Fairfield University, and is a certified public accountant. 

Brandon Weaver is a Global Marketing Executive with experience at Diageo, Carlyle Group, LVMH, UBS and General Electric. Currently General Manager for Sonder, a late stage VC backed tech-enabled travel company reimaging hospitality for the modern traveler.   Served as GM & CMO of Stillhouse Spirits, a subsidiary of Bacardi USA, awarded for its cutting-edge packaging and design. Formerly the CMO & COO of Bonotel Exclusive Travel, a Carlyle-backed $300mn luxury hospitality provider sold to Travel Leaders Group in 2017. Developed and delivered 3 award winning campaigns for Diageo’s Johnnie Walker, Don Julio & Captain Morgan (2013 Cannes Global Lion Award Winner). Helped localize and implement global brand strategy for LVMH collection of luxury champagne brands in US market. Early career in sales at GE Consumer Finance and in financial analysis at UBS. Los Angeles native. BA, University of Southern California (USC). Master, Public Administration, Harvard University. MBA, Kellogg School of Management.