Santa Rosa, Calif., January 27, 2020 – Zepponi & Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Kevin O’Brien to Principal. O’Brien’s promotion from Senior Vice President to Principal was announced by Mario Zepponi. Zepponi & Company is a leading merger and acquisition firm specializing in advisory services to the beverage alcohol industry with offices in Santa Rosa, California and Portland, Oregon.
O’Brien, a licensed CPA, joined Zepponi & Company in 2015 with extensive professional experience focused on the wine, beer and distilled spirits industries. He has since helped expand the renowned advisory firm’s strong wine base in the Pacific Northwest, as well as into the larger beverage alcohol category. Prior to joining Zepponi & Company, O’Brien worked at Portland-based accounting firm Irvine & Company with numerous winery, brewery and distillery clients on corporate advisory matters, including financial modeling, strategic planning, and mergers and acquisitions. Before his work in the Pacific Northwest, O’Brien was an investment analyst for a San Francisco-based consumer product focused private equity firm where he completed debt, equity and acquisition transactions in the food and beverage industries. O’Brien began his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers working within the firm’s private company group providing assurance services to various wine, manufacturing and retail clients.
O’Brien has shared his beverage alcohol industry knowledge as a speaker at the Wine & Spirits Daily Summit, American Craft Spirits Association Convention, Craft Brewers Conference, and Oregon Wine Symposium. He is also a lecturer for Sonoma State University’s Global Executive MBA in Wine Business. Recently he was honored as a recipient of the ‘Forty Under 40’ award by the Portland Business Journal, representing the region’s most influential professionals as “game-changers, move-makers and forces of the future.” O’Brien is based in Zepponi & Company’s Portland, Oregon office, from where he works on both local and global business for the firm.
“We are thrilled to have Kevin join us as a Principal,” noted Zepponi. “His enthusiasm, client-focused work ethic, financial expertise, depth of industry knowledge and relationships are a perfect complement to the growth and development of our firm. Kevin’s tireless work ethic and consideration for the best interests of our clients has earned him this promotion. Our clients will enjoy the benefits of Kevin’s expertise and efforts for years to come and I fully expect that he will help lead our firm to even greater heights in the future.”
“It is with great excitement that I accept this promotion to Principal,” stated O’Brien. “Zepponi & Company is a unique firm that is a market-maker in the industry with a track record of advancing the best interests of its clients. I cannot speak highly enough about the quality, professionalism and dedication of our team. In this new role, I look forward to continuing to build upon the stellar reputation of our firm and the successes of our clients.”
Since 2009, Mario Zepponi, Matt Franklin and Joe Ciatti have been the sole Principals of Zepponi & Company. With O’Brien’s promotion, he will be the fourth Principal of the firm.
About Zepponi & Company
Zepponi & Company is a leading global mergers and acquisitions advisory firm that is dedicated to the beverage alcohol industry, and has been the most active advisor in the North American wine sector. The firm has served as the financial advisor on numerous transactions involving ultra-premium and luxury wine brands, estates and vineyards, such as Pahlmeyer, Orin Swift, Meiomi, Patz & Hall, Kenwood Vineyards, Penner-Ash, Siduri, WillaKenzie Estate and Stagecoach Vineyard. Zepponi & Company has advised some of the industry’s largest beverage alcohol companies, including Constellation Brands, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, Diageo, Jackson Family Wines, F. Korbel & Bros. and King Estate. For more information, please visit www.zepponi.com/team/.
