Dan Gasper is founder and CEO of The Ardent Company – a proudly independent accelerator that fuels founder-led businesses at the nexus of drinks to build the boldest version of their vision. The Ardent Company supports pioneering founders focused on the future of drinks, including low and no alcohol offerings. Dan started coaching founder-led drinks businesses in 2009, after nine years of working for some of the largest multinational drinks corporations. Dan later co-founded Distill Ventures in 2013 and spent 4+ years as COO, where he was early to see the potential of the NA space and brands like Seedlip. Energized and inspired by founders, who've become the driving force in drinks innovation, Dan has since coached over 100 drinks entrepreneurs.

April Asico is a Group Manager of Beverage Innovation Design at Starbucks. In this role, she leads a forward-thinking team whose mission is to imagine and realize the world’s most captivating beverage experiences that drives sustainable business growth. Prior to Starbucks, April worked in brand management at The Hershey Company where she grew their better-for-you salty snack portfolio, which included beloved brands like SkinnyPop and Pirate’s Booty. She also brings a wealth of experience from Deloitte Consulting where she mobilized teams on global large-scale transformation projects in the Food & Beverage industry. April holds an MBA with a concentration in Marketing from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin and a B.S. in Operations in Information Management from Georgetown University.

As the leader of New Revenue Streams, Dan drives new business models and opportunities beginning with category expansion and the evolving access to beverages across the consumer journey.  This includes the leadership of the Company’s efforts with brands in beverage alcohol, enhanced hydration, premium sparkling waters, and home dispensing systems. 

Jenny Dowdy is President of Red Tree Beverages, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company focused on the Alcohol Ready-to-Drink (ARTD) category. In this role, she leads strategy and operations for the North America ARTD portfolio, including Fresca MIXED, Simply Spiked, Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, Topo Chico Spirited, Peace Hard Tea and Jack Daniel’s & Coca-Cola. Dowdy also facilitates new business deal flow and oversees brand marketing for the ARTD portfolio. The 16-year Coca-Cola system veteran has worked across multiple categories and functional areas, including brand commercialization, operations, revenue growth management and marketing. Most recently, she served as Vice President, South Zone Operations, and Vice President, Revenue Growth Management, Stills Business Unit. Dowdy earned an undergraduate degree in Marketing from Miami University of Ohio, and an MBA from the University of Georgia. She recently served on the Board of Directors for Girls on the Run Atlanta. Dowdy currently resides in Atlanta with her family.

Kristen Bareuther is the President and Head of Investment for Asahi Group Beverages & Innovation, LLC, an investment fund launched in 2023 by Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd., a global leader offering a diverse collection of brands centered on beer, alcohol and non-alcohol beverages, and food. Located in San Francisco, California, Asahi Group Beverages & Innovation provides funding to US startups that have attractive beverage brands with significant future growth potential. Kristen is a venture investor focused on growth strategies for start-up entrepreneurs in the beverage space. Passionate about early-stage brands that tap into evolving consumer preferences with a strong knowledge of what’s required to succeed in the US beverage landscape, Kristen joined Asahi earlier this year from First Beverage Group. Prior to joining First Beverage, Kristen served as the Vice President of Corporate Development for The Charmer Sunbelt Group, one of the nation’s leading distributors of spirits, fine wines, and beer. In addition to leading profit-enhancing initiatives across the 13-state enterprise as a member of the executive team, Kristen advised the team on growth and acquisition strategies during a period in which the group acquired partner interests in five companies, and executed an industry-changing merger resulting in one of the largest wine & spirits distributors in the country, Breakthru Beverage Group. Additionally, during her tenure at The Charmer Sunbelt Group, Kristen served as an elected board member of the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America’s Council for Leadership Development. She is a graduate of the University of California Los Angeles, where she received both a BA in Political Science/International Relations from UCLA and an MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Management.

Ken Sadowsky is a beverage industry veteran whose career started in a family distribution business in Massachusetts. While being an operator, he was a student of the better for you beverage trends and became an early distributor of brands like Snapple, Red Bull, SoBe, and Vita Coco. He was also fortunate to be included on the vitaminwater team (as a Director). Today he serves as an Advisor in the USA for Verlinvest, the Belgian InBev family’s investment vehicle as well as serving as a Director at Vita Coco, Hint, and LifeAID.

As founder and CEO of BevNET, John Craven is a widely-recognized authority on the beverage industry and he is frequently cited in mainstream media. His vision shapes the editorial, publishing, and positioning of all of BevNET's properties, including BevNET.com, NOSH.com, BevNET Magazine, Brewbound.com and their associated conferences. John is a graduate of Boston College with a BS in Marketing and Computer Science.

Mike Schneider is BevNET’s CMO and the co-host of Taste Radio podcast. Mike has over 20 years of experience building products and brands. Mike loves soccer and will talk your ear off about the Arsenal. His favorite holidays are St. Totteringham’s Day and Michael Thomas Day.