DANNY KEEFE
FOUNDER AND CEO
A natural born entrepreneur, Danny Keefe developed a career in the lighting industry where he became a leading sales executive with the Phillips Corporation. Danny left Phillips to create his own lighting company which serviced premium restaurants throughout America. After his company was acquired, Danny’s Italian roots brought him to Cortona, where he began importing Tuscan wine into America. Employing his passion for European wine and expertise in large scale distribution, Danny developed a leading fine wine distributor in his home state of Colorado. This created the platform for Grapejuice Group to expand as a national importation company. Now with expertise in supplier and distribution management, pricing, sales and strategic planning, Danny leads the team at Grapejuice Group and has grown the company’s sales territory into 47 U.S. states.
MARK AND WENDY COHEN
PARTNERS
Mark and Wendy Cohen are life partners as well as business partners. Mark has been an entrepreneur and investor his whole life. Wendy taught high school for many years. She is also Marks partner and adviser in their business ventures. In 2008, they ventured into the retail wine world while living in Colorado. In a short time, they had one of the largest wine clubs in Colorado with over 3,000 members. The Cohen’s have also operated successful restaurants and bars.
In 2019 they moved to Newport Beach where they are active in spending time with their children and grandchildren. They love spending time every day on the beach and enjoying all things oceanside. Mark also enjoys golf where he beats Danny every single time they play.
That same year, they became partners in Grapejuice Group where they take an active role in GJG’s rapid growth as a national importer. Additionally, they are deeply involved in sales, marketing, chain growth, and serve as advisors at Grapejuice Group.
MATT SMITH
VP OF SALES | NATIONAL SALES DIRECTOR
SCOTT ROUGHGARDEN
VP OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, WESTERN US
Scott is a seasoned vet in business development. He is a founding partner of Honey Bubbles wine which has attained national distribution in a very short time. In addition to having many years in the wine business, Scott is a serial entrepreneur. Scotts experience included launching a multi-million dollar sales and marketing campaign for Davidoff and managing a staff of over 150 promotional representatives nationally. He has worked with major brands such as Red Bull, and Heineken, where he launched and implemented the Heineken Beats Campaign.
EMILY MARTIN
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Emily loves the journey of exploring wine varietals and the stories they tell, from around the world. She especially appreciates the history, language, culture and traditions of the people and countries where each wine is made, as well as the reinvention that each vintage brings. She feels lucky that she gets to combine passion and career as a part of the Grapejuice Group team!
TRICIA PETERSON
COMMUNICATION | CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Tricia established Blueraven Creative in 1996. In 2003, she developed, designed and launched hundreds of skus for the craft industry and still partners to create handmade products that sell in retail stores across the US. Her broad portfolio led to exhibit and interpretive design for National and State Parks and to the invention of SensoryPEN®. During the last five years, she has focused her attention and learned what makes the wine industry tick, and is excited to be a part of an amazing team!
BRAD THOMAS
DIRECTOR OF SALES
Brad has over 19 years’ experience in the wine industry. Representing family-owned and operated brands and telling the stories of our producers makes it easy for Brad to share our amazing European portfolio across the United States with retailers, restaurateurs, and consumers. Brad believes that wine makes family, food and friends a little better, and these are what Brad is most passionate about.
VALENTINA ALONSO
OPERATIONS ASSOCIATE
Valentina is getting started in the business and is looking forward to gain experience in the field. As an Argentinian American, she loves the mix of cultures and is expanding her horizons by learning Italian. She also loves her pets and is a huge fan of the Colorado Avalanche ice hockey team. Lastly, Val is thrilled to be a part of the Grapejuice Group famiglia.