2026 Speakers

Anthony Bozzano

Principal/Sales Director, Bozzano & Company

Anthony Bozzano owns and manages Bozzano and Company, a Central Coast wine business specializing in bulk wine and grape sales and custom brand development. Prior to founding Bozzano and Co., Anthony worked in sales and marketing for a local winegrower, where he managed bulk wine and private label sales.

Anthony was raised in Stockton, CA., where he is still actively involved with his family’s farm. He is a graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and a member of Class 43 of the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation

Tony Correia

Owner, The Correia Company

Tony Correia is widely recognized as a leading authority on the valuation of vineyards and wineries, and other agricultural and rural properties. He has been an instructor of valuation courses and seminars throughout North America and is a frequent speaker on agricultural properties; valuation, taxation, and estate planning issues; water rights, and the wine industry and vineyard and winery markets. Tony has also qualified as an Expert Witness in many local, State and Federal courts in California, Arizona, Nevada and Illinois. Tony was also recognized as one of four top leaders in the wine industry at a gathering of the Top 50 Leaders in the Wine Business in Napa, California.

Tony is currently Principal and Owner of The Correia Company. After undergraduate work at Saint Mary’s College of California and Syracuse University, Tony graduated from California State University, Fresno with a major and post-graduate work in English and a second major in Russian. Prior pursuits include former lives as a grape grower, partner in a large commercial real estate brokerage, and various government positions including a tour as an IRS examiner, and as a military intelligence analyst, cryptanalyst, and linguist. He now lives in San Juan Bautista with his wife Stephanie and enjoys travel, photography, great literature and music, fast cars, slow cooking, gardening, the study of wine, and the pursuit of knowledge.

Phillip Dunn

Director of Spirits Sales & Purchasing, Wine Buyer Burgundy, Champagne, North America, Wally's Fine Wine, Spirits & Gourmet Market

Scott Estrella

Senior Category Manager, Majors Management, LLC

Jason Haas

Proprietor and General Manager, Tablas Creek

Neb Lukic

President of Luxury Sales & Marketing, Treasury Wine Estates Americas

Melanie Mann

Principal Category Merchant for Wine, Whole Foods Market

Melanie Mann, is the Principal Category Merchant for Wine at Whole Foods Market. With a relentless dedication to sourcing wines that weave compelling narratives and uphold impeccable quality, Melanie stands at the forefront of crafting a wine selection that resonates with the values of Whole Foods Market’s discerning customers.

In her role as the leader of the team responsible for curating all wines stocked in over 350 stores across the United States, Melanie’s passion for her work shines through in the rich diversity of wines available to Whole Foods Market patrons. Alongside her colleagues she shares a common commitment to delivering a truly memorable wine experience.

One of the pivotal areas of focus for Melanie and her team is the organic and biodynamic sector. Wines crafted with certified organic grapes or eco-certified practices hold a special place in their hearts. However, it’s not merely about certifications or flavors; it involves probing into a winery’s practices related to worker responsibility, social responsibility initiatives, environmental impact, and much more.

Phil Markert

Director of Liquor, Albertsons, Vons, and Pavilions at Albertsons Companies

Phil Markert began his career in the retail grocery industry 45 years ago, where he worked as a stock clerk in an independent liquor store while attending high school in North Torrance. His career with the Safeway organization began in 1982, where Phil worked as a bagger in a Torrance store. He quickly advanced through the retail ranks, serving as clerk, head clerk, grocery manager, assistant manager and store manager.

His entrance into the liquor business began in early 1988 when he was introduced to Fine Wine at a restaurant in Santa Monica during a food and wine experience with friends and family that forever changed the landscape of how wine is sold in grocery stores. At this dinner, a 1985 Groth Reserve Cabernet was served – the first 100-point wine rating given by Robert Parker to a California wine. Seeing the dinner guests enjoying and talking about it, the idea came to light that there is a correlation between what customers buy at a restaurant and at a grocery store in the same marketing area. Weeks later, with the support of senior management, the birth of the ‘Fine Wine Program’ took place in Santa Monica Ca.

Phil was promoted to store manager of the Belmont Shore Vons in 1991 and moved the Fine Wine Program to the Belmont Shore. The program included everyday low pricing, expanded wine selection, local specialty foods, community events, in-store chef demonstrations, bottle signings, winemaker dinners at local restaurants, full-service staff, a newsletter and home delivery service.

From 1994 to 2002, Phil moved to the Vons Division office in Arcadia, and was promoted to Fine Wine Sales Manager. His job was to rollout the Fine Wine Program to fifty Southern California stores, duplicating what he had accomplished in his store.

In 2002 Phil was promoted to National Category Director of Wine and relocated to Pleasanton. Phil took his experiences from the Southern California program and applied it to twenty-one states across the country, leading a team of people to become the largest wine retailer in the United States. In 2007, Phil was promoted to Vice President, General Manager for Alcohol and Tobacco and applied his Neighborhood Marketing approach to Beer, and Spirits.

In 2010 Phil left Alcohol and was promoted to VP of Merchandising/Operations for Non-Perishables for the company. His responsibilities included overseeing the merchandising/marketing and the execution at retail. He also led the company’s clustering initiatives, and the Premium store project.

In 2014 Phil was appointed as the company’s leader for Perishables and Non-Perishables of our LOCALIZATION initiative and Neighborhood Marketing efforts.

In 2015 Phil returned to his roots in SOCAL as the LQ. Sales Manager for the newly combined Albertsons, Vons, and Pavilions Division of the Albertsons companies. In 2017 Phil took on the additional responsibilities of VP of Marketing/Merchandising of Pavilions. In 2019 he went back full time in alcohol as the Director of Liquor for AVP

Phil supports a wide variety of organizations serving local communities, including City of Hope, Susan G Komen Breast Cancer foundation, and the Christermon Scholarship Foundation. Phil has a passion for fitness and loves Food, & Wine, – hence the workouts!

Stefan Matulich

President, Alma Rosa Winery

Stefan Matulich is the president of Alma Rosa Winery, a leading producer of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Rhône varietal wines from Santa Barbara County’s Sta. Rita Hills AVA. A seasoned executive, he brings more than 25 years of experience in the wine and hospitality industries to his role.

Throughout his career, he has combined a deep understanding of consumer behavior with a passion for connecting people through food, wine and memorable experiences. This belief has guided Stefan’s career, which included a 15-year tenure at Bounty Hunter Rare Wine & Spirits in Napa, where he rose from wine scout to CEO. There, he helped transform the company into a nationally recognized luxury brand, introducing innovative spirits programs, modernizing digital marketing and expanding direct-to-consumer initiatives, ultimately driving annual revenue beyond $35 million.

Most recently, Stefan served as general manager at Twin Rocks Estate Winery in the Sierra Foothills before joining Alma Rosa in 2025.

Maeve Pesquera

Executive Vice President of Luxury and Chief Marketing Officer, O’Neill Vintners & Distillers

Maeve Pesquera is a transformational wine industry leader and values-driven executive with a legacy of success in building luxury brands, scaling business growth, and shaping culture with purpose. With three decades of experience across prestige hospitality, strategic marketing, and innovation, Maeve brings deep expertise and authentic leadership to every facet of her work.

As Executive Vice President of Luxury and Chief Marketing Officer at O’Neill Vintners & Distillers, a certified B Corp and one of the country’s most dynamic privately held wine and spirits companies, Maeve leads the company’s luxury wine division and oversees marketing across the full portfolio. Her leadership spans Ram’s Gate Winery in Carneros and Robert Hall Winery in Paso Robles, as well as a growing collection of purpose-driven consumer brands. She also serves as a national spokesperson for O’Neill, connecting with trade partners, media, and industry stakeholders to advance innovation and elevate brand impact.

Prior to joining O’Neill, Maeve spent a decade at DAOU Family Estates, where she worked closely with founders Georges and Daniel Daou to shape the company’s culture, strategic direction, and rapid rise in the luxury wine space, culminating in DAOU’s $1B acquisition by Treasury Wine Estates. Previously, she served as National Director of Wine, Beverage and Culinary Innovation for Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, earning national recognition for launching the award-winning WiNEPAD, a pioneering digital wine experience.

A sought-after speaker and mentor, Maeve is a passionate advocate for building the next generation of wine industry leaders. She has spoken at national forums including the Oregon Wine Symposium, Women of the Vine & Spirits Global Symposium, Dream Big Darling, and Wine Business Financial Symposium, among others. She serves on multiple industry boards and advisory councils, including the California Wine Institute, Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance, and Cal Poly’s Experience Industry Management program.

Maeve’s work has been featured in Bloomberg, Forbes, SOMM Journal, and E! News, and honored with awards such as the Georges and Daniel Daou Award of Excellence, Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, and the VIBE Vista Award for Best Wine Program.

Maeve lives with her husband, Luis, a veteran chef, on their Paso Robles homestead, Milagro Ranch, where they grow wine grapes, olives, sheep and are raising five spirited young men. She believes in leading with integrity, cultivating joy, and leaving the land, and the industry, better than she found it.

Terry Stanley

Terry Stanley, Journalist, Muse by Clios

Kaleigh Theriault

Director of Thought Leadership, NIQ Beverage Alcohol Vertical

Kaleigh has 10 years of NIQ experience and considerable background working with clients in multiple categories. She has been involved with the Beverage Alcohol category for the last six years working on Thought Leadership, industry insights, and client specific business questions and projects. Kaleigh brings a unique skillset of analytic capabilities, as well as commercial selling story creation, and has significant background in bringing consumer insights to the forefront in support of sales trends. She has been pivotal in the NIQ strategy and tactics for Beverage Alcohol as the industry changes and develops.

JoAnn C. Wall

Accredited Rural Appraiser and Real Estate Broker, CEO, Above & Beyond Real Estate Services, Inc.

JoAnn C. Wall, ARA/Broker is the CEO at Above & Beyond Real Estate Services, Inc., a company she started in 2009 as Central Coast Ag Appraisal, Inc. Following a short stint as the Regional Vice President of a national appraisal firm in 2015, JoAnn re-launched her company in early 2016. In 2019, she expanded her practice to include brokerage and consulting services and now operates Legacy & Land Group, a specialty brokerage firm she founded with her business partner Vali Nemetz.
Having worked as a staff appraiser in the Farm Credit System for many, contract appraiser for a local independent fee shop, and eventually owning and managing two successful fee-based appraisal businesses herself, JoAnn has a wide range of real estate experience that brings diversity and knowledge to her practice. JoAnn is known locally as the authoritative source for vineyard and winery brokerage and valuation on the Central Coast. In addition to vineyard and winery real estate, she has multiple disciplines and specialties including greenhouse/nursery operations, permanent plantings, special use facilities and cannabis. She frequently teaches and speaks at conferences throughout the U.S. regarding these topics.
JoAnn received her Certified General appraisal license in March 2000 and attained the level of ARA (Accredited Rural Appraiser) through the ASFMRA in October 2008. She is the past Chair of the National ASFMRA Appraisal Education and Accreditation Committee and is an active instructor for both continuing education classes and core courses, many of which she has written herself. She is also a past President for the California Chapter of ASFMRA and has been active on several committees at the State level. She received her Brokerage license in September 2019 and specializes in agricultural real estate transactions.
JoAnn lives in the small town of Templeton, California with her high school sweetheart and husband of 25 years, Brandon, and her son Aiden (Age 19). Her oldest, JoEllen Wall (Age 23) recently graduated from Oklahoma State University and now works for Oklahoma AgCredit.

Callum Williams

Senior Economics Writer, The Economist

Callum Williams is Senior Economics Writer at The Economist, an author and a speaker on economics, politics and global trends.

As Senior Economics Writer for The Economist, Callum’s economic insights are highly sought after. Callum has a unique perspective on the intersection between the economy, markets and politics. He is a regular contributor to The Economist‘s podcasts and seminars, and he has been interviewed by the BBC, Fareed Zakaria and Sky News. Audiences value his no-nonsense style, and come away from his speeches feeling more clever than when they arrived.

At The Economist, he covers global economic trends including artificial intelligence, the future of work, inflation and globalization. In October 2023 Callum authored a highly popular “special report” on the future of globalization, which focused on the risks and opportunities from industrial policy and AI.

He can speak on a wide variety of topics. Living in San Francisco, he has an inside view of the AI boom, bringing rigorous data-driven analysis to the topic. He can talk about the relationship between stock markets and the surge in inflation. In 2023 he argued, against the consensus, that the world economy would avoid a recession.

He is also the author of The Classical School: The Birth of Economics in 20 Enlightened Lives (2020), which explores the history of economic thought.

Callum has studied at Cambridge, Oxford and Harvard, where he was supervised by Amartya Sen.

Mario Zepponi

Managing Director, Beverage Alcohol Team, BMO Capital Markets

Mario co-founded Zepponi & Company in 2009, an M&A Firm specializing in the Beverage Alcohol industry, which joined BMO Capital Markets in June 2024. Prior to Zepponi & Company, Mario practiced law as a corporate, real estate and food and beverage attorney. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and his law and MBA degrees from the University of Notre Dame.

Central Coast Insights

The economic and financial conference for the Central Coast wine industry

To view a Speaker biography, click the “+” on the photo.

Anthony Bozzano

Principal/Sales Director, Bozzano & Company

Tony Correia

Owner, The Correia Company

Phillip Dunn

Director of Spirits Sales & Purchasing, Wine Buyer Burgundy, Champagne, North America, Wally's Fine Wine, Spirits & Gourmet Market

Scott Estrella

Senior Category Manager, Majors Management, LLC

Jason Haas

Proprietor and General Manager, Tablas Creek

Neb Lukic

President of Luxury Sales & Marketing, Treasury Wine Estates Americas

Melanie Mann

Principal Category Merchant for Wine, Whole Foods Market

Phil Markert

Director of Liquor, Albertsons, Vons, and Pavilions at Albertsons Companies

Stefan Matulich

President, Alma Rosa Winery

Maeve Pesquera

Executive Vice President of Luxury and Chief Marketing Officer, O’Neill Vintners & Distillers

Terry Stanley

Terry Stanley, Journalist, Muse by Clios

Kaleigh Theriault

Director of Thought Leadership, NIQ Beverage Alcohol Vertical

JoAnn C. Wall

Accredited Rural Appraiser and Real Estate Broker, CEO, Above & Beyond Real Estate Services, Inc.

Callum Williams

Senior Economics Writer, The Economist

Mario Zepponi

Managing Director, Beverage Alcohol Team, BMO Capital Markets