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Anthony Moniello is the CEO of Next Century spirits and focuses heavily on the sales, marketing, innovation and PR for the business. Anthony stood up the Next Century Brand Group, a new division primarily focused on the marketing and sales of Next Century owned brands and key partnerships. In parallel, Moniello overseas the management and expansion of distributor relationships with an emphasis on creating bespoke RTM strategies that fit each brand. Prior to joining NCS Anthony worked with Diageo for nine years in several leadership roles across sales, marketing, and consumer planning. His successful track record deploying brand activation and field marketing activities for innovation brands like Creek Water and industry stalwarts like Tanqueray Gin, Johnnie Walker, Captain Morgan Rum, and Don Julio Tequila has helped him create and implement an explosive, sustainable growth model for NCS.
Matthew Bronfman serves as Executive Chairman of the Board of Next Century Spirits, bringing decades of experience as an investor and business leader across consumer products, real estate, financial services, and other industries. Matthew is Chairman and CEO of BHB Holdings, a private investment firm with diverse interests, and also serves as Chairman of Bronfman LLC and a Director of Lincoln Avenue Communities. Earlier in his career, he held roles at Goldman Sachs and Cadillac Fairview Corporation and later served as Managing Director of ACI Capital. His family’s history as the former owners of The Seagram Company gives Matthew a longstanding connection to the global spirits industry. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Williams College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
One of contemporary American music’s biggest names, Kenny Chesney was voted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and was named Billboard’s No.1 Country Artist of the 21st Century. Selling out America’s major stadiums for two decades and playing to over a million fans every summer since 2002, Variety pronounced him “country music’s only true long-term stadium act.” The East Tennessee songwriter/superstar won the prestigious Entertainer of the Year eight times, has over 105 Platinum-certified units and amassed 36 No.1s, holding Billboard’s record for the most Country Airplay No. 1s with 33 chart-topping songs that define coming of age in the flyover in the 21st Century. The game-changing superstar became the first country artist to perform at the groundbreaking Sphere in 2025, taking No Shoes Nation into a whole new dimension. Following overwhelming demand and critical acclaim, with USA Today praising “Kenny Chesney delivers a vibrant, visually arresting feast,” he returned to Sphere in 2026. His first book Heart Life Music debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction and Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction lists.
Damon DeSantis is an entrepreneur, investor, and public company director with more than four decades of executive leadership, operational, and investment experience across the consumer products, nutrition, hospitality, financial services, automotive, and spirits industries. Mr. DeSantis serves as an independent director of Celsius Holdings, Inc., where he chairs the Governance and Nominating Committee. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Integrated BioPharma, Inc., bringing extensive experience in corporate governance, strategic planning, acquisitions, and consumer brand development. Previously, he served as Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Rexall Sundown Nutritional Company, a former Nasdaq 100 company and one of the world's leading manufacturers and distributors of nutritional supplements, overseeing the development, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of thousands of products across domestic and international markets. Attended the University of Florida, Mr. DeSantis continues to invest in and advise a diverse portfolio of private businesses spanning hospitality, real estate, consumer products, automotive, financial services, and spirits. His career has been defined by building brands, creating long-term shareholder value, and providing strategic leadership to both public and private companies.
Tom Spisak joins New Century Spirits after over 3 years with Reed’s Inc where he served as Chief Financial Officer. During his time at Reed’s, he played an important role in bringing more financial discipline, establishing key banking relationships, and guiding the company during a challenging, macro-inflationary environment. Prior to joining Reed’s, Tom provided financial leadership, including extensive expertise over a broad range of finance functions during his 26-year tenure in the North America region of Diageo, a multinational alcoholic beverage company with net sales over UK £12.9 billion (U.S. $16 billion). Tom held numerous positions in multiple divisions of Diageo, most recently serving as Vice President of Finance and Controller of North America. Previously, he held positions of Vice President of Commercial Finance, Director of Business Performance and Senior Finance Director of Marketing and Innovation Decision Support, as well as other roles in finance. Prior to Diageo, Tom served at International Masters Publishers, Inc., a private company with publishing activities in 35 countries. Tom holds an MBA in International Business from Fairfield University and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Rhode Island.
Joel Pawlak is a Co-founder of Next Century Spirits. An NC State University Associate Professor of Forest Biomaterials, Dr. Pawlak’s research interests include the creation of new materials from forest resources using physical and biological manipulation of the polymer structure, and he has received a number of awards for his research. During a 2009 scholarly leave to UNC-Chapel Hill, his work resulted in an interdisciplinary graduate program of study between the Forest Biomaterials and Microbiology departments at NC State University. He is a recognized expert in the field of paper physics and has served as a private consultant for more than 20 companies. Dr. Pawlak currently resides in Raleigh with his wife, Leslie, and three children.
Arjun Rajaratnam serves as General Counsel at Next Century Spirits, bringing a wealth of global legal and compliance experience to the role. Over the course of his career, he has held senior leadership positions in multi-billion-dollar companies in legal, compliance, and risk management, including serving as Global Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Risk Officer, and Executive Committee Member for multinational organizations. At Next Century Spirits, Arjun leads all legal and governance matters, serving as the company’s sole in-house counsel. His responsibilities span corporate governance, financing, equity management, mergers and acquisitions, commercial transactions, and intellectual property. Prior to joining NCS, Arjun developed and led a global compliance program from the ground up, supported cross-border M&A in countries including Brazil, Colombia, Russia, and India, and negotiated complex settlement agreements with the U.S. government. Outside of work, Arjun enjoys time with family, listening to live music and travelling - both domestic and international. And while he has visited more than 30 countries on 6 continents and resided in 6 countries - his favorite places to visit are: Costa Rica, Singapore (where he was born) and New Mexico.
Adam Cook serves as Vice President of Operations for Next Century Spirits. Over the last 15 years, Adam has held several leadership positions in a variety of strategic operational and supply chain roles with Beam Suntory. Adam has led major operational implementations, overseeing global supply chain activities and strategy across several commercial spirits portfolios, including but not limited to the integration of production from multiple facilities and from the acquisition of brands such as Pinnacle vodka, Cruzan rum and Calico Jack rum. In his role as VP of operations Adam manages centralized production while continuously driving process improvements in the areas of forecasting, demand planning, supply planning, inventory management and launch management, while implementing and optimizing complex ERP and S&OP and 3PL projects. Adam lives in Raleigh with his wife Kayla and their four children.
Shari Baxter is the Vice President of Beverage Development at Next Century Spirits. She leads product development and manages strategic relationships with customers, suppliers, and other partners in the spirits industry. Shari brings over 15 years of experience in spirits beverage development. Prior to this role, Shari lead R&D/Beverage Development for both Coastal Pure Beverages and Green River Spirits Company. She has worked in R&D at Beam Suntory and also led the adult beverage private label brands for Sam’s Club. Shari holds a Ph.D. from University of Maine in Food Science. When she is not at work, Shari enjoys spending time with her husband Dustin, three children and two dogs.
Amanda Blanco is the Vice President of Brand Marketing at Next Century Spirits, where she leads the development of the brand portfolio and drives creative direction. With 25 years of experience across global corporations, family-owned businesses, startups, and nonprofits, Amanda is recognized for her innovative, resourceful approach to building brands in both high-growth and lean environments. Her expertise spans brand and commercial strategy, communications, consumer insights, and digital campaigns. Amanda has driven brand growth for Metallica’s BLACKENED Whiskey, Jägermeister, and HEINEKEN USA, achieving results through creative problem-solving and strategic leadership. Passionate about blending creativity with strategy, Amanda extends her marketing expertise to nonprofit organizations, supporting initiatives for the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame, Career Resources, Inc., and the New Canaan YMCA. She holds an MBA in Marketing from Pace University and a BA in Economics and German from Bucknell University, with advanced training from the EncoreCT program at the UCONN School of Public Policy. Amanda’s balance of vision and execution continues to position Next Century Spirits for success.
