Tony Abbinante is Director of Trade and Community Relations for Diageo. By building and maintaining relationships with industry associations and community organizations around the country, Tony supports Diageo in being in its leadership role in responsible drinking, corporate citizenship and as the supplier of choice for retailers and distributors. Tony has spent 34 years in Total Beverage Alcohol with the last 18 at Diageo. Tony is married and the father of eight lovely children.

Barry Becton currently serves as Senior Director of State Government Relations for Diageo North America.  Barry is responsible for directing Diageo’s legislative and regulatory affairs in 11 states primarily in the mid-west.  Barry previously served as Director of Trade and Community relations for Diageo building and maintaining relationships between Diageo and a wide array of regulatory and industry groups.   Barry joined Diageo in May of 2000 after having managed government relations for the TIPS program.  Prior to his work at TIPS, Barry helped open and manage a wine and gourmet shop in Alexandria VA.  Barry moved to Washington DC to work for United States Senator Dale Bumpers.  Barry also worked for former US Senator David Pryor and the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging. 

Barry currently serves as President of the World Association of the Alcohol Beverage Industries (WAABI) and also as Chairman of the Industry Relations Committee at DISCUS.  Barry sits on the board of the Sky Ranch Foundation as national secretary and serves on the American Cancer Society’s Wine and Spirits Industry Gala Committee. Barry lives in Alexandria, VA with his wife Mary and son Connor.

Mike Bertman joined Diageo as Director of Federal and International Affairs in January of 1999. He was recently appointed Vice President, Federal Government Affairs.

In this role, he is Diageo’s lead lobbyist with the United States Federal Government. He represents Diageo with key policy makers on numerous issues including taxation, advertising, and responsible drinking. As Diageo’s lone Federal lobbyist, Mike balances top tier relationships with Members of Congress in both the major political parties and in both the House and Senate. He currently Chairs the DISCUS Federal Government Affairs Committee and manages the Diageo relationship with numerous other Washington, DC based entities.

Prior to coming to Diageo, he served on Capitol Hill for over eight years in leadership roles in the offices of Senator Don Nickles and Congressman Frank Lucas both of Oklahoma. It was during those years that he learned how the Congress works both on Floor of each body and in the office buildings where the bulk of the work gets done. One of his career highlights is his work on behalf of the people of Oklahoma City following the bombing of the Murrah Building in 1995. Mike is married and has three boys under the age of five.

Amy Elliott is Director of State Government Relations, Western Region. She directs Diageo’s legislative, regulatory and political affairs in 11 states, including California, aligning all activities with Diageo’s business goals. She manages a team of professional on-the-ground consultants, as well as trade association relationships. Prior to her current post, Amy worked for several DC trade associations, including the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States as their VP of State Government Relations, Western Region. Amy began her career working for U.S. Senator Bill Armstrong (CO) and U.S. Senator Hank Brown (CO).

Sonya Deen is a Senior Director of State Government Affairs for Diageo. Sonya has managed the company’s government, community, and social responsibility agenda in the Southeastern US for nearly 6 years. She serves on the Business Board of Advisors for the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators and is involved in the Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s Legislative Committee.

She has 14 years of political and government experience, where, prior to to her role with DIAGEO, her career was spent in Florida, as a governmental consultant for the Skelding Labasky law firm representing clients like the Seminole Tribe of Florida, Walt Disney World, Florida Power and Light and Pompano Harness Race Track. Preceding her private sector days, Sonya worked in the Executive Office of the Secretary of State (FL) for 3 years overseeing press activities as well as managing Department of State publications. She is a graduate of Florida State University and currently resides in Atlanta, GA.

Mark Harding is Vice President Global Government Affairs and is currently
reponsible for issues relating to global public policy at Diageo. Mark
has been employed by Diageo for 17 years and immediately prior to this
post, he established the Corporate Relations function for Diageo Canada.
Before this he spent 12 years working in Corporate Relations in Asia,
his last position being the Corporate Relations Director for the region.
He has extensive experience in all elements of Corporate Relations
including Government Relations, Public & Social Policy and
Communications.

Stephen Heller has been a consultant to Diageo since 2003 where is reviews marketing materials for compliance with the Diageo Marketing Code. Prior to that, he worked for Seagram for twelve years.

Ken Lane joined Diageo in 1999 and is Vice President of Government and Trade Relations. In that capacity he is responsible for all state and provincial government relations in the United States and Canada. He also oversees Trade Relations in the US. Prior to joining Diageo Ken worked as a government relations director for Miller Brewing Company. He is a graduate of the University of Vermont.

Joseph Luppino is Director of State Government Affairs for Diageo’s Northeast region. Manages DEO’s legislative, regulatory and reputational interests in 10 Northeastern states, including managing trade association representatives and contract lobbyists.

Joe serves as company spokesperson on testimony before legislatures and with news media on ALR. Previously was Director, Government Affairs of the American Medical Association. Experience at nexus of communications and public policy/government affairs.

Zsoka McDonald is Diageo’s Director of Media Relations and Trade Communications. Zsoka has established Diageo’s presence in important trade publications and has solid relationships with stakeholders in the field. Prior to joining Diageo, she spent six years at New York Life Insurance Company in its international department where she worked extensively with the established and emerging markets on communications planning and execution. Experience at nexus of communications and public policy/government affairs.

Jon Pageler joined Diageo in 2003 and is the global director of brand communications strategy. He currently manages the team of NY based Brand PR directors. Prior to joining Diageo, Jon worked for Westhill Partners - Diageo’s Strategic Communications Agency - for almost 3 years as the account lead on the Diageo business. Prior to Westhill he worked on several high profile political campaigns, including the 98 Schumer Senate race and the 2000 Bradley Presidential bid.

Nyree Pinto handles employee communications for Diageo’s Global Supply Americas division. She works extensively with the Supply Executive team and with the GMs at the various manufacturing plants in NA and Canada. Nyree came to Diageo from seven years in the advertising industry with extensive CPG experience in formulating and implemented results-oriented digital marketing programs on behalf of companies such as Kraft Foods North America and Unilever. Prior to that she worked for a Public Relations firm focused on advancing health care reform issues.

Lynn Riemer is Director, Communications for Diageo North America. In this capacity, Lynn is responsible for aspects of employee communications, volunteer programs, and charitable activities, and she helps to manage the North America responsible drinking program.

Lynn joined the company in 1999 from Ames Department Stores, where she was Director of Corporate Communications, with responsibility for customer relations, employee communications, investor, and vendor communications. Lynn is a graduate of Kenyon College, Gambier, Ohio.

Virginia Sanchez, Vice President of Corporate Relations for Diageo is responsible for developing and managing the company’s Corporate Relation’s agenda for Multicultural communities in North America, including media relations, brand public relations and third party strategic initiatives.

Virginia has broad experience in both the public and private sectors. Prior to joining Diageo, Virginia held various senior level management positions in the area of Corporate Communications/Public Affairs, specifically marketing public relations, media and community relations, issues management, and international affairs at Eastern Airlines, Texaco Inc. and The Dow Chemical Company. Virginia also directed the Government Affairs Department for Miami-Dade County, one of the largest governments in the country with a $5 billion dollar budget. She was responsible for overall legislative policy formulation, the management of political campaigns, and the County’s team of local, state and federal lobbyists. Virginia is an active participant in the South Florida community, currently serving on the Executive Committee of the Beacon Council, as well as the Miami-Dade County Manger’s Marketing Think Tank. She also serves on the prestigious John F. Kennedy School of Government Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard University. She is often sought out for consultation on significant issues as statewide referendums on education, health care and transportation funding. Virginia holds a Doctorate in Jurisprudence from the University of Miami and a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from the University of Florida. She enjoys the theater, tennis, photography, and the fine arts.
Melissa Woodbury is Director of Brand PR for Diageo. She has been working in PR on Diageo brands for six years - beginning at Alan Taylor Communications in New York where she worked for five years. She has also worked on brand PR programs for Purina, Pitney Bowes, MasterCard, AT&T and JPMorgan Chase. Melissa was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa, and she is proud to tell you that the Iowa State Fair is one of the largest in the nation. She attended Denison University in Ohio before ultimately finding her way to New York City.

Gary M. Zizka is Director of Public Policy for Diageo. His responsibilities include developing and implementing responsible drinking programs, tracking current research on alcohol policy, developing and reviewing legislative proposals and performing review of marketing materials compliance with the Diageo Marketing Code.

Prior to his current post, Gary worked for a D.C.-based trade association. Gary began his career on the staff of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan.