The alcohol industry has long been an industry dominated by men. A 2019 report showed that only 16% of C-level employees in the food and beverage manufacturing industry were women.
Meet five women who are disrupting the male-dominated industry: Aimy Steadman, Co-founder and COO at Future/Proof + Beatbox Beverages, Jamie Hunt, Founder and CEO of Fast Penny Spirits, Holly Robinson, Co-Founder & Chief Revenue Officer of Fast Penny Spirits, Nayana Ferguson, Co-Founder and COO of Anteel Tequila and the first Black woman to own a tequila brand in the world, and Pamela Wiznitzer, award winning beverage consultant and mixologist. They will give us their insight into the alcohol industry, how they broke through barriers and how they are working to empower women entering the alcohol world. Toast to women shaking up the spirits industry with us and bring a cocktail made with a women-owned brand of spirits on April 21st.
Learn more about our speakers:
Aimy Steadman: Co-Founder and COO at Future/Proof - BeatBox Beverages
Aimy co-founded Future/Proof, which created BeatBox Beverages - the World's Tastiest Portable Party Punch™. Future/Proof, recently awarded one of Inc. Magazine’s Top 5000 Fast-Growing Privately Owned Companies in America, is a disruptor in the beverage alcohol market that provides innovative solutions that drive incremental profit in high-growth categories. Aimy is a founding Board Member and 2021 Board President of the emerging consumer-packaged goods (CPG) group Naturally Austin. She also serves as a CPG Strategic Advisor for Springdale Ventures, Congress Avenue Ventures, and We Grow Green funds. Steadman has also received a handful of notable national as well as global accolades, most recently Austin Chamber’s A-List 2020 in addition to being featured in a recent book entitled The Immigrant Hustle.
Outside of work, Aimy spends time enjoying nature with her three dogs and boyfriend as well as playing video games. She is also passionate about mental health and meditation and practices regularly.
Jamie Hunt: Founder and CEO of Fast Penny Spirits
A mostly Seattle native, Jamie is known for launching innovative digital products and experiences for global companies as well as seeking out delicious food and cocktails at home and on the road. In creating Fast Penny Spirits, she digs deep into her Sicilian heritage and love of amaro for a new American take on the spirit.
A life-long learner and traveler, trips to Europe helped spark her dive into the world of amaro. With a family history rich in making wine and liqueurs at home, Jamie set about concocting the recipe for Fast Penny’s flagship amaro, Amaricano — testing hundreds of brews and combinations. When she’s not mixing up flavors in the distillery, Jamie can be found spending time with her family: husband Jason, children Anya and Gavin, and Italian truffle-dog Fiori.
Holly Robinson: Co-Founder & Chief Revenue Officer of Fast Penny Spirits
Holly comes from a background rich in sustainable farming, hospitality and beverage. A life-long Pacific Northwest dweller, she can regularly be found ocean-side digging for razor clams, as regularly as a mountain trail foraging for mushrooms. Wanting to work more with sustainability in food systems, paired with a drive to do better in her everyday career brought Holly to Fast Penny. Her background in the spirits world and love for hospitality sealed the deal.
In addition to Fast Penny, Holly was the co-founder of Captive Spirits Distilling and their well-known national brand, Big Gin. She lives in North Seattle with her daughter.
Nayana Ferguson: Co-Founder and COO of Anteel Tequila
Nayana is the first Black woman to own a tequila brand in the world. Being in the tequila industry, she is able to educate people on the benefits of tequila. Along with her husband, Nayana has a Business Consulting company as well, to help others to begin their path of entrepreneurship. Nayana is also a 15-year pancreatic cancer and 8-year breast cancer survivor. She is a volunteer with the Detroit affiliate of the Pancreatic Cancer Network, devoting her time to bringing awareness and hope to the families that are going through this challenge by speaking about her experience with pancreatic cancer.
Pamela Wiznitzer is an award winning beverage consultant and mixologist with over 16 years of experience in the industry. She was nominated as one of the top 10 bartenders for the 2014, 2015 and 2016 "American Bartender of the Year" award at Tales of the cocktail and was named the "2014 Bartender of the Year" by the Village Voice. Additionally, she was named as one of Food & Wine Magazine's top 10 Rising Star Mixologists, an inductee to the "Dames Hall of Fame" in 2015 and one of Wine Enthusiast Magazine's "40 Under 40" in 2015. Education is key to Pamela's career as she obtained a Master’s degree in Food Studies, with a concentration on spirits and alcohol, at NYU’s Steinhardt School. Pamela has been featured in multiple publications including ranging from The New York Times to the Wall Street Journal, as well as reoccurring media appearances on networks such as the Food Network, Vh1, and NBC.