Well-versed in the liquor laws of his native Scotland and the Old World in general, Will Payne had some fast learning to do when his employer, the venerable Scottish distillers William Grant & Sons, deployed him to New York City in 2016 to be interim general counsel of their American operations. “The United States is […]
Features Food & Beverage
Ron Palmese – Shake Shack
Like many young lawyers in firms, Ron Palmese was mindful of his professional growth being limited by having to concentrate on a specific area of practice and thus not being exposed to the big picture for a client. Much as he enjoyed transactional law, Palmese didn’t feel satisfied enough with his level of involvement in […]
Mike Zitelli – Edrington Americas
He heard it from a professor of sports law while an undergrad at the State University of New York, College at Cortland. Just some simple advice that didn’t need to be embellished with any pretentious Latin. “When the door to opportunity opens, you must walk through it,” young Mike Zitelli was advised not that many […]
Beth M. Kotran – Ferrero North America
As general counsel for the North American operations of the global confectionery heavyweight Ferrero, Beth M. Kotran has literally achieved—well almost—what she had so aspired to after leaving private practice in 2002. “I was focused on one piece of a bigger pie,” she tells Vanguard from her office in Parsippany, New Jersey. “I wanted to […]
Jennifer McConnell – Compass Group North America
Jennifer McConnell remembers how she worked her way through college and law school waiting tables. Cheerful and eager to please, she reflected well on every restaurant where she’d greet customers, take their orders and make sure their drinks stayed full. While being a career waitress wasn’t in the cards, McConnell learned early how the skills […]
Truly a public house
Ten years ago, well into her tenure as chief legal counsel for Heineken USA, Julie Kinch helped launch a company-wide women’s leadership forum. What began with six people in a Chicago conference room has, in the decade since, grown to include more than 120 members from throughout Heineken’s ranks—male and female, millennials and boomers, executives […]
Marcus Reed – Craft Brew Alliance
From golden stouts to black lagers, the world of microbrews proves there’s nothing a dedicated mind can’t make real. Including, it turns out, a career as a beer lawyer. As general counsel for Craft Brew Alliance (CBA), Marcus Reed finds himself at the nexus of two longtime passions: The first, borne from an epiphany on the […]
Juan Camilo Bernate – Productos Ramo S.A.
Lawyer jokes are a dime-a-dozen. As are the criticisms that lawyers only make things more difficult. On both fronts, Juan Camilo Bernate has heard them all, says the legal manager for Productos Ramo, a popular Colombian snackfood company. “People think the lawyer is the one creating the problem,” he says. “We’re trying to change that […]
At Cargill, the legal department knows no borders
While conducting an exercise meant to encourage information sharing between the legal leaders of Cargill’s various Central American offices, Michelle Canelo, legal manager for the region, had her big aha moment. It began with one lawyer discussing a problem he had encountered, and his eventual solution. Another attorney, representing a different country, chimed in to […]
Matt Hamel – Brown-Forman Corporation
Much like quality bourbon or a fine wine, excellence takes time—and time appears to be the special ingredient for Brown-Forman Corporation. For close to 150 years, as it has honed its iconic spirits brands, the family-controlled company has also fostered a culture that is relationship-based and consensus-driven, says Matt Hamel, Brown-Forman’s executive vice president, general […]
