Turnaround Management Association Panel Discussion

Wine, Beer and Spirits Industry Panel Discussion

April 18, 2019 – FOR RELEASE

Professionals from the Upstate New York Turnaround Management Association converged on The Craftsman Inn in Fayetteville, New York to attend a panel discussion featuring members of Constellation Brand’s (NYSE: STZ) Commercial Strategy and Corporate Development offices based in Rochester, NY together with the executive management team of Weppon & Co. Ltd. a privately held premium spirits brand producing Weppon Whiskey in Utica and Syracuse, New York to discuss topics facing business practices within the global Wine, Beer and Spirits industries.

The discussion kicked off with some of the biggest challenges facing the industry and included insight from Steve King, Constellation Brands’ Director of Corporate Development and Eric Paparo, CEO, Weppon & Co. Ltd. of the importance of navigating government regulations and the impact of global tariffs.

As the members expanded on the challenges of government legislation, Vasilis “Bill” Anninos, President of Weppon Whiskey countered with the government’s ease on legislation and introducing tax incentives especially in New York which reduces the barrier to entry into the market and has benefited the State with the addition of jobs and tourism as a result.

Chris Huels, Constellation Brands’ Manager of Commercial Strategy – Corporate Ventures, presented an insightful look into consumer trends, emerging markets and key business practices which are required in today’s competitive marketplace.

The members also provided developing trends in technology advances from Weppon Whiskey’s Temper Distilling and plans for blockchain implementation to mobile technology used to enhance the consumer experience up to and beyond the point-of-sale. Panelists also discussed the ground breaking Augmented Reality (AR) technology being launched by Brown-Forman’s (NYSE: BF-B, BF-A) Jack Daniel’s brand.

The discussion ended with an interactive exchange with audience members posing questions to the panelists with a focus on scalability, regional dependency on brand expansion and corporate investment strategies.

The panel discussion was moderated by Attorney Charles J. Sullivan, a Merger and Acquisition specialist and Chair of the Agribusiness Practice Group at Bond, Schoeneck & King.

The Turnaround Management Association is a worldwide community of professionals from many disciplines utilizing their expertise, knowledge, and experience to increase corporate value, preserve equity, manage disruption and significantly improve enterprise results.

Weppon Whiskey is a unique and limited clearic style whiskey produced in New York with their proprietary Temper Distilling method which eliminates the need to age in oak barrels.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) is a wholly American-owned company, which produce quality, iconic brands such as Corona Extra, Modelo Especial, Ballast Point, Robert Mondavi, Kim Crawford, Ruffino, The Prisoner, SVEDKA Vodka and recently announced a $4B investment into Canadian cannabis giant Canopy Growth.

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