Andy Thomas took the helm as Chief Executive Officer of Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) in January, 2014, after serving as President of Commercial Operations for the craft brewing company since 2011. Andy brings more than two decades of leadership experience in consumer packaged goods and the beer and beverage industries to his role as CEO for CBA. He spent 12 years, from 1995 to 2007, at Heineken, working with brewers and beers in more than 55 countries across four continents, including serving as president & CEO of Heineken USA from 2005-2007. Following that, he served as an independent consultant and senior advisor to The Monitor Group, a global management consulting firm. Andy holds an MBA from the Simon Graduate School of Business, University of Rochester, and a Bachelor of Science, with a concentration in Marketing, from Bryant University.

Christine Perich serves as the CEO of New Belgium Brewing and is a member of the company’s Board of Directors. At the end of 2012, she guided the company through a 2nd Stage ESOP transaction, which resulted in New Belgium becoming a 100% employee-owned company BCORP. Perich now has oversight of all day to day operations and the construction and integration of the company’s second production facility in Asheville, North Carolina, which is slated for completion in late 2015. Christine has been an integral part of New Belgium’s growth and success. When she started at New Belgium in 2000, the company operated a 165,000 barrelage production facility and distributed its products in 7 states. In 2014, New Belgium will produce more than 970,000 barrels and distribute its products in 37 states and throughout Canada and Sweden.

A serial entrepreneur, Alan Newman's craft beer roots date back to 1993 with the launch of Magic Hat Brewing Company. Newman spent over 17 years at the helm of Magic Hat before turning to new opportunities in the industry. Newman brings his entrepreneurial spirit and passion for craft beer to his latest project, Alchemy & Science (A&S). The company is home to four brewery projects, including Traveler Beer Company, Angel City Brewery, Coney Island Brewing and Concrete Beach Brewery, all with a mission to expand the share of the craft beer nationally.

Jerome Pellaud, Global VP of Craft & Specialties at ZX Ventures, entered the world of beer through flavor and fermentation in 1998. A chemist by education, he received a PhD in Biophysical Chemistry (the science of proteins) from the University of Basel (Switzerland). He moved to Belgium in 1998 to pursue a post-doctoral study on sulfur flavors produced by yeast during fermentation at the Brewing Technology Lab of the University of Louvain-la-Neuve, the same University where Jerome gained certification as a Brewmaster. With a passion for beer, food, flavors and beverages in general, Jerome joined ABI in 2000 in brewing science and new product exploration team. He is now realizing his dream to bring exceptional Specialty beer experiences to people across markets.

As Vice President of Nielsen’s Beverage Alcohol Practice, Danelle provides industry thought leadership and best practice solutions to beer, wine, and spirits clients, industry groups, and the media. She is committed to leveraging Nielsen’s breadth of resources to provide an integrated and holistic understanding of consumer behavior and retail trends across beer, wine, and spirits. Danelle has more than 15 years of marketing experience, and has been with Nielsen for over 10 years, working across various clients in the food, beverage, and consumer goods industries. Prior to joining the Beverage Alcohol Practice, Danelle led Nielsen’s business at MillerCoors in Chicago. Danelle received her MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, and her BA in International Studies and Economics from Allegheny College in Pennsylvania.

Covaleski plays a creative and pivotal role in leading the overall growth strategy of Victory Brewing Company. He serves as head design creative for Victory beer brands and culinary collaborations as well as a driving force behind community engagement. Covaleski and Victory co-founder, Ron Barchet, serve as brewmasters, providing strategic guidance in the development of new beer brands. Since its inception in 1996, he assisted in transforming a shuttered Pepperidge Farm factory into a brewery that serves 37 states and 8 countries along with a 300-seat brewpub. Both the brewery and the restaurant support the local economy of Chester County, PA with 420 employees. In 2014 a second brewpub opened in Kennett Square, PA and a new, environmentally friendly 200,000 square foot brewery was built in Parkesburg, PA enabling Victory to double production. In 2015 the Parkesburg brewpub opened and self-guided brewery tours began. Under Covaleski and partner Barchet’s innovative passion, keen industry foresight and perpetual tutelage, Victory is currently ranked number 28 of the top 50 craft breweries. Prior to co-founding Victory, he earned a degree from the prestigious Doemens Institute of Munich Germany, having completed their International Course in Brewing Studies after an invaluable five-year apprenticeship under German trained Dutch brewmaster, Theo deGroen. Before pursuing his craft beer dreams, Bill labored as an art director after earning his degree Magna Cum Laude from Temple University’s Tyler School of Art.

Jasper Cuppaidge started out brewing cask ales in the basement of his pub, The Horseshoe in Hampstead. Unable to find locally brewed beers he loved for his other bar taps, he set out to open a Brewery in a quest to make the world’s best lager. In 2010 Camden Town Brewery opened in the railway arches of Kentish Town West station, since then the brewery has been devoted to championing the style and using modern techniques to convert a whole generation of beer enthusiasts into lager lovers. Camden Town’s second brewery in Enfield is set to open next year.

Chris is the General Manager and Co-Founder of The Bronx Brewery, a craft brewery that creates exceptional pale ales. His journey in the food and beverage industry has taken him throughout the world, from Boston, MA to Sao Paulo, Brazil, before settling in the South Bronx. As General Manager, Chris focuses on the business-related aspects of The Bronx Brewery. As with all startups, he wears a number of hats, but is generally tasked with setting the overall strategy for the company and on a daily basis oversees Sales, Marketing, Finance, and Investor Relations. Before starting The Bronx Brewery, he worked as an independent marketing, sales, and business development consultant to Heineken International, focusing on small or turnaround operating companies. Prior to his work with Heineken, Chris oversaw a number of engagements with Bain & Company, a management consultancy, helping food and beverage companies tackle a wide range of issues from sales strategy to organizational restructuring to acquisition diligence. Chris holds an MBA from the Sloan School of Management at MIT and a BS from Bentley University.

Robin Ottaway is co-owner and President of the Brooklyn Brewery. His relationship to the company began when he first met founder Steve Hindy while living in Egypt, where his father David Ottaway worked alongside Steve as a war correspondent in the Middle East. Robin attended Colby College in Maine before moving to Boston to run the distribution arm of Brooklyn Brewery with his brother, Eric. He later moved to Brooklyn and took over management of the sales team, where his booming laugh and expansive knowledge of the beer industry proved indispensable. In his time managing sales and as President, Robin has overseen the Brooklyn Brewery expand into more than ten new states and over a dozen new countries. He and his family are Brooklyn fixtures; Robin sits on the executive board of the Brooklyn Historical Society, and he and his family are deeply involved in many community events.

Bryant Goulding was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Connecticut. He graduated from UConn with an MA in Economics and wrote his thesis on ‘The Economics & Evolution of the Craft Beer Market.’ Goulding worked as supply chain & marketing analytics consultant while living in SF and would eventually quit the consulting world to work in beer sales at Anderson Valley. He also worked for three years with Dogfish Head, managing 18 wholesalers across five states. He then spent six months at Golden Road in LA as the company’s sales director before co-founding Rhinegeist with Bob Bonder in 2013. Goulding currently serves as the VP of sales & marketing for Rhinegeist, overseeing the creative marketing and sales execution aspects of the business.

Bob Bonder was born in Denver and grew up in New York. He graduated from Cornell with degree in Biometrics and previously worked as a strategy & marketing analytics consultant while living in NYC and SF. Bonder helped to build & finance a medical device company focused on spinal surgery and at one point tried opening a luxury bed & breakfast in Brazil. When that failed, he decided to open a coffee company in Cincinnati. Bonder started the Tazza Mia coffee company and co-founded a local wine bar before launching Rhinegeist with Bryant Goulding three years ago. Rhinegeist -- which completed a big expansion project in 2015 that included the installation of a new brewhouse, and construction on a private event space and roof deck -- sold over 31,000 barrels in 2015. Nearly 25,000 barrels were self-distributed. Rhinegeist employs over 125 people. Throughout all of these twists, Bonder has maintained an unquenchable passion for reading and thinking.

Mark Rieth was born and raised in the metro Detroit area of Michigan. He is a proud alumni of Michigan State University, graduating with a Bachelor’s of Business in 1989. The automotive industry is where Mark got his start after college, working for Toyota Motor Corporation in Torrance, CA, followed by a transfer to the Regional Office of Sales and Marketing in Boston, MA. Mitsubishi Motor sales eventually recruited Mark, transferring him down to Phoenix, AZ as Director of Sales and Marketing. Mark was then transferred back to his home state of Michigan in 1997, the same year Atwater was founded. Mark got into the beer business by investing in Atwater Brewery in 2002 and took over the brewery outright in 2005 where it was producing around 250 barrels annually. Atwater Brewery produced approximately 45,000 barrels in 2015, making it the 3rd largest producer in the state of Michigan. Mark also resides in the Park with his wife, Sheri and their three kids, Parker, Emmie, and Lexi.

Jeremy Cowan is the founder and proprietor of Shmaltz Brewing Company – the world’s smallest, largest, and most award-winning Jewish Celebration and Sideshow Freak beer company. Recently named “Best American Craft Brewer” for 2010 by Beverage World Magazine and ranked by consumer website RateBeer.com as one of 2013’s “Top 100 Brewers in the World,” Shmaltz has made quality, community, and shtick the defining pillars of its business over the past seventeen years. Over the course of 2011 and 2012, Shmaltz Brewing won 14 Gold and Silver Medals with the World Beer Championships. Over the past 18 years, Shmaltz has grown into a 200,000 case per year operation (over 12,000 barrels), grossing $3.9 million in sales in 2012, a 42% increase over 2011. In May 2013, Shmaltz opened its own New York State production brewery. Located in Clifton Park, NY, 10 minutes north of Albany's capital district, Shmaltz's new home boasts a 50-barrel brewhouse with 20,000 barrels of annual capacity.

Paul Barnett serves as the Chairman of Artisanal Brewing Ventures, the parent company of Southern Tier Brewing Company and Victory Brewing Company. Paul has been an investor in private companies for 30 years and currently leads the private investment arm of Ulysses Management, a multi-family office founded by his partner Josh Nash. Paul’s investment approach is to search for industries facing significant dislocation and identify the emerging winners. Paul and his colleagues at Ulysses initially began looking for opportunities in the beer business in 2010 among distributors, which traditionally have enjoyed very high family ownership. After better appreciating the dramatic potential of craft beer they turned their attention to building a home for indie craft breweries and distilleries where they could maintain a high degree of operating independence while harnessing the deep collective resources of a larger enterprise.

Jeff Carefoote began his career in beer in 1982, where he worked for Molson Canada in sales and marketing and later served as the company's vice president of marketing until his departure in 1989. Jeff would join Molson USA Importers as its vice president of marketing, where he helped to develop and launch Molson Ice and the Foster’s “Australian for Beer” positioning. In 1995, Jeff moved to Miller Brewing Company as Group Director on MGD and High Life and in 1998 he returned to Molson Canada as its senior vice president. In 2002 Jeff purchased the Amsterdam Brewing Company and during has grown the company from 5,000 hectoliters to 50,000 hectoliters. Jeff holds dual citizenship in the U.S and Canada and resides in Toronto with a wife and three daughters. He graduated from WLU in Waterloo with an Honors BA and an MSA from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.