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Kenneth J. Kwit, President
Mr. Kwit is a seasoned general management and marketing executive with
substantial experience in the start up and rapid development of consumer
brands, both for early-stage as well as public companies. Prior to
founding WineSource.com in the summer of 2005, Mr. Kwit served, and
continues to serve, as president of the FurnitureFind Corporation.
He has also served as CEO of three high-growth, consumer product
companies with extensive interests in wine, e-commerce,
direct marketing, furniture and specialty retailing. He led an investment
group in acquiring control of Sonoma Vineyards, Inc., and further led
that company through a difficult financial workout and transformed
it into the then largest public winery in the United States including
the nation’s most extensive direct marketing wine business. He
also led a venture-capital
backed acquisition and rapid development of Expressions, Inc., a successful
manufacturer and retailer ($100M+) of upscale, custom furniture and
unique home accessories. Previously, as Vice
President and General Counsel of Norton Simon, Inc., a Fortune 100
consumer products company, Mr. Kwit was responsible for over USD $1
billion of acquisitions. Mr. Kwit began his career as a Wall Street
lawyer and was founder and managing partner of a major New York City
corporate law firm following a clerkship on the Federal Court of Appeals.
He graduated fifth in his class at Columbia Law School and with distinction
in economics from Cornell University.
Mitchell Schwartz, Executive Vice President
Mr. Schwartz has over twenty years experience in sales and marketing
in the U.S. wine industry, including positions as National Sales Manager,
V.P. Channel Development, and Director of Marketing with some of the
largest wine companies in the world., including Constellation Brands. He
has been responsible for developing a number of wine brands from minor
status to major players in the industry. He was also responsible
for the creation of Paul Mason Grande Amber brandy, which was the first
premium domestic brandy. The new brand quickly became the # 2
selling brand of domestic brandy in the U.S. Mr. Schwartz has
also led Category Management efforts in reshaping the wine offering
with major East Coast grocery retailers. He graduated with honors
from the Cleveland State University MBA program, and is currently an
Adjunct Professor in the Business Department of Monroe Community College.
Thomas D. Barrett – Senior Vice President
Mr. Barrett has over 25 years of general
management, merchandising and marketing experience. Mr. Barrett joined
Sonoma Vineyards in 1978, where he took a marketing position with the
Windsor Vineyard direct-to-consumer personalized wine division. With
Sonoma’s acquisition of Post
Tool, Mr. Barrett was promoted to Vice President of Marketing to launch
a retail tool division, where he played a pivotal role in the successful
expansion of 35 stores in California and Nevada. Mr. Barrett
held top line positions with Whitbread North America, a major importer
and distributor of alcoholic beverages, in Brand Management, Sales and
finally as the Operations Manager of a $30 million international joint
venture project for Atlas Peak Winery in Napa Valley. Previously,
Mr. Barrett worked as Vice President and General Manager to C & W
Corporation which owned and operated numerous furniture outlets. He was
also the Regional Business Director for Expressions Custom Furniture
where he assisted new franchisees in all aspects of their business. At
Winesource, Mr. Barrett’s
efforts are focused primarily on Marketing and Merchandising.
Warren Fosse, Director of Marketing
Mr. Fosse began his web career in 1996, as the cofounder and President
of Dancing Ink Media, whose first major client was FurnitureFind.com,
the earliest furniture e-commerce site. FurnitureFind and Dancing
Ink officially merged in early 1998, and Mr. Fosse became Director
of IT and Web Development devoting his efforts first to the ongoing
technological metamorphosis of the site and then to the integration
of its content management systems. Mr. Fosse currently serves as the
Director of Marketing, focusing on the site's online marketing efforts,
web analytics, and overall website strategy. Mr. Fosse studied Commercial
and Graphic Design through the EACC and Southwest Michigan College.
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