vanilla

Kai, our COO, is a native of San Rafael, California – a suburb of San Francisco. As a lifelong athlete and ex-investment banker, Kai learned to strive for excellence in all aspects of his life. He paid his way through UC Berkeley by leveraging his athletic career into a successful basketball training business, a venture that he is proud to say provided opportunities for 30+ of the athletes he trained to earn college scholarships.

It was through starting this business that Kai realized his passion is to empower others by helping them realize their full potential. Kai believes that with tenacity, persistence, and focus, everyone is capable of achieving whatever they set their minds to.

Favorite time to drink BOMANI?
– Brunch baby!!! Bye bye, Bloody Mary.

Favorite music?
– Odesza, but he’s fallen in love at every Kaskade concert he’s ever been to.

Passions
– Yelling about the Golden State Warriors, asking for a bite of your food, giving in to FOMO

Amin grew up in the small town of Orinda, California and found his passion for coffee at a young age when helping around his parents’ coffee shop – so naturally, he’s our Chief of Product & Design. He’s always been a bit of a dreamer who loves developing enormous creative concepts that challenge accepted norms. Over time, Amin discovered his greatest strength – an innate ability to connect and bond with people over their passions, from music to skiing to aviation.

After graduating from Chapman University, Amin found himself working in the largest revenue driving division of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager. To Amin, BOMANI is an opportunity to bring people from all walks of life together.

Favorite time to drink BOMANI?
– At any & all music festivals or concerts.

Favorite music?
– Deep House – there’s a rumor going around THAT WE LOVE IT!!

Passions?
– A high quality aloha shirt, deep house turtleneck parties, telling everyone how much he loves them after a few BOMANIs

Jack was born and raised in Orange County, California. He moved up the coast to study International Relations and Tech Management, while competing at the Division 1 level in Track at UC Santa Barbara. After graduation, he moved to San Diego to pursue a career as a tech consultant. Long weeks of traveling across the country for project meetings and product presentations opened his imagination, and validated his thoughts on what co-founder Sam Madani shared with him. A health conscious, better-for-you alcoholic beverage that supported an active lifestyle that would become BOMANI. Jack loves that BOMANI offers people a delicious opportunity to avoid sugary and inflammatory drinks when they want a kick of natural energy in a conveniently canned alcoholic beverage. Not to mention, Jack was extremely stoked on the fact that BOMANI is gluten free.

As a decorated competitor, with two promotions and a quarterly MVP award at his previous company, Jack feels that every day starts at zero. Something tangible always needs to be completed for satisfaction. To Jack, BOMANI inspires people to accomplish what they have set out to do.

iv class=”team-headingh-h4″>Quick Facts:

Born and raised in Orange County, California, Sam is the Chief Executive Officer of BOMANI Cold Buzz. Sam, the son of Iranian immigrants, has always been driven and motivated by his parents’ struggles and successes. After he graduated from USC and moved to New York to work in investment banking, he realized there was a glaring gap in the market for a delicious drink that had both natural caffeine and low-carb alcohol.

Sam loves meeting new people and understanding what makes them tick. In the process of developing BOMANI, Sam learned that his purpose is to find solutions for others that allow them to live passionately without sacrificing other aspects of their lives.

Favorite time to drink BOMANI?

– During the day, poolside or at the beach…and of course, another one after dinner to jumpstart the night.

Favorite music?

– West Coast rap, but after a couple cans of BOMANI, it’s throwback time.

Passions?

– Pop renditions (Britney Spears) on the piano, fake Australian accents, befriending bouncers, demanding the aux in Ubers

Shawn Golhar is a Managing Director and the Head of Public Policy Research at Barclays. Formerly, Mr. Golhar was a Director in the Public Policy Group in New York and a Vice President in the Public Finance Group in Los Angeles. Active in the community, he serves on the boards of America Needs You and is an Advisory Board Member for Blue Engine and Millennial Action Project. He was awarded the Barclays Citizenship Award in 2015. Mr. Golhar is a Truman National Security Fellow and served as a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations and as a Leadership Southern California Fellow.

Mr. Golhar completed his undergraduate studies at Rutgers University and the London School of Economics and received his Masters’ degree in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Shirin Behzadi is a seasoned entrepreneur who successfully built industry-dominant companies and facilitated successful exits. Most recently, Shirin was the Chief Executive Officer of Home Franchise Concepts (HFC), which recently celebrated its 27th year as the top-selling family of direct-to-consumer brands in the home-related goods & services space. HFC’s four brands (Budget Blinds®, Tailored Living®, Concrete Craft®, and AdvantaClean®) are supported by more than 1,700 franchise territories operating in more than 11,000 cities in North America.

Shirin managed and coordinated a nine-figure majority buyout of HFC in 2015 by Trilantic Capital Partners. Under her leadership, HFC grew into one of the largest and most respected franchisors in the country, on track to reach record systemwide sales in hundreds of millions in 2019, a fantastic increase in roughly 3 years. In July 2019, the Company was sold once more, which provided exceptional returns for all investors in the company in a short less than 4 years.

On International Women’s Day 2019 (March 8th), Shirin was featured on the cover of Forbes Magazine online. Last year, Shirin received the Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2018 Award in the Direct to Consumer category in recognition of her leadership in innovation, financial performance, and commitment to her company and community. These awards come during a season of professional recognition for Shirin, including a cover story in the Franchise Times, selection as a presenter at the Strategic Growth Forum, and the subject of a profile story in Entrepreneur magazine. Shirin has really come a long way since she was a 17-year-old immigrant who put herself through college by working at a gas station.

Nick Gagliardi is a highly-respected veteran in the consumer products and alcohol industry. He began his career at Colgate Palmolive, where he spent 15 years in both sales and marketing positions exploiting his natural understanding of consumer demand and ability to execute at all levels from running National Accounts based in Arkansas to managing Colgate Palmolive Canada. He then joined Interbrew / Labatt Breweries in Canada in Strategic Planning.

Nick returned to the United States where he served as VP&GM of Labatt USA where he was instrumental in collaborating with the CCM Brewery in Monterrey, Mexico to strengthen brands such as Tecate, Dos Equis, Carta Blanca and Sol in the United States. He also was instrumental in in the launch and success of bringing Stella Artois to the US.

He then became President of Liquid Investments, a holding company based in San Diego, CA., which was the parent of the 10th largest Beverage Wholesaler in the US. Liquid Investments managed Mesa Distributing, Mesa Beverage, Colorado Beverage, and other business interests in Canada and Mexico for almost 10 years. He then served in a number of renowned positions that focused on sales, marketing, and the back-end operational side of the businesses, including COO of Monster Beverage, President of Great Artisan Beverages, and successful operations of his own business interests.

Nick’s broad, deep, thorough experience in the industry enables him to provide incredibly valuable insight as BOMANI prepares for its launch. It’s common for Nick to make one call to a distributor and have a meeting set within minutes – a feat that would take any other brand multiple weeks. The fact that distributors trust Nick to this level is indicative of Nick’s reputation: he has consistently introduced top notch brands and supported distributors through execution in the market.

Dustin grew up in Orange County and attended Chapman University – earning degrees in Economics and Accounting. After graduation he began his career in San Francisco and later would go on to accept an opportunity with Capstone, a hedge fund in New York City. During his time in New York, he learned of the project started by his close friends Kai, Sam and Amin – BOMANI Cold Buzz. Coming from a family of entrepreneurs, Dustin always had plans to one day come in at the ground floor of a company and BOMANI’s purpose closely resembled that of his family’s past ventures – challenging accepted norms. To Dustin, BOMANI is an opportunity to apply his skillset towards a meaningful purpose – introducing a health conscious alcoholic beverage that is convenient for the consumer.

Quick Facts:

Favorite time to drink BOMANI? Out on the lake or at a festival

Favorite music? House music – always a good time for house.

Passions? Assembling a quality Spotify playlist, traveling the globe, a pepperoni pie at John’s of Bleeker.

I was born and raised in Brooklyn, so NY has been my only home. As a kid growing up in Brooklyn sports and music were the everyday staples I called a life. I am a huge Knicks fan but Larry Bird was and still is my all-time favorite player which is how basketball became my 1st love, and I had hopes of playing in the NBA. I was a 5 time free-throw champion in NY and the league MVP my final year playing summer ball. Once an injury derailed that from happening during JV tryouts my sophomore year, I started bowling to rehab my arm. Although I was offered a scholarship to Sacred Heart, I stayed local for school at Brooklyn College and kept to leagues and tournaments. I have bowled 2 perfect games along with a 299 and 298. While in college I became a DJ for WBCR and started to pursue a career in music. Once Napster came about and put a large damper to that idea, I stayed in the music scene for a few years but transitioned to the IT world for a company creating software that was changing the education world. Like all good things it was during this time being a desk in front of a computer that I decided I needed to be out there with people trying to make a difference in person. I landed my first sales job with Manhattan Beer Distributors and never looked back. Over 6 years with Manhattan Beer, I was promoted 6 times working my way up the ladder until I was given the opportunity to run my own sales team in NY for Hopsy. Seeing the type of difference an honest salesperson can make I set my sights on selling something that could change the world for the better. As fate would have it, Bomani cold buzz was created and I saw an opportunity to put my stamp on the beverage world. I get the chance to bring one of the best tasting and healthiest alcoholic drinks to the greatest city on the planet, NYC!!

I was born a military brat in Fort Hood, TX but grew up in a small town in west TX, Abilene, TX. I am the only girl of 4 children so yes a big tom boy. Attended all my schooling in Abilene from Reagan elementary, Lincoln Jr. High, Abilene High and McMurry University.

I was employed with Target stores for 20 years in various positions. From Logistic manager, merchandising manager, remodel coordinator and store manager. After leaving Target, I decided to travel for a year before going back into corporate world. I re-entered the business world with a company by the name of Club marketing services. CMS is a broker company that does headquarter calls to Walmart and Sam’s club on behalf of suppliers that need assistance.

I was hired on to be a district manager of the field reps. In 3 short months I was promoted to regional manager and shortly after that to the Director of field operations. After 6 years as a director I was promoted to a sales manager position to call on buyers of Walmart and Sam’s club. I really enjoyed this position because it allowed me to come into contact with the big decision makers at Walmart Inc. I’ve cherished the relationships I’ve built over time while working in Bentonville, AR. And am looking forward to helping BOMANI grow our brand!

I have a passion to motivate, inspire and encourage people to be the best they can be at all times. I have a proven track record that I have what it takes to get the job done and welcome any and all challenges .

Favorite time to drink BOMANI?
Pre-game!! Before hitting the town with my friends as well as relaxing in the evening with friends and family.

Favorite music?
Old school R&B and gospel.

Passions?
My passion is motivating people to be the best they can be at all times, to teach them never give up on their dreams and integrity is everything!

I was born in Bogota, Colombia and moved to Kansas City, KS when I was 8 years old. I studied Business Management at the University of Kansas…ROCK CHALK! After graduation I moved to San Diego, where I worked as an account manager for Acosta. After advancing my work at Acosta, I was offered an opportunity to move

Los Angeles and work for a startup- which is something I have always dreamt of doing. I started working for Integrity Wellness Brands where I got an opportunity to work with the BOMANI Cold Buzz Team. There’s nothing I love more than being a part of a company that’s growing and being part of that process is something that inspires me every day!

To me, working for BOMANI and Integrity Wellness Brands has been more than just a job, it has helped me find the work that I am passionate about.

Favorite time to drink BOMANI? Happy Hours, Festivals and at a tailgate cheering on the Chiefs!

Favorite music? Rap and Deep House

Passions? Traveling, Chipotle connoisseur, and smothering my dog.

I was born in Bogota, Colombia and moved to Kansas City, KS when I was 8 years old. I studied Business Management at the University of Kansas…ROCK CHALK! After graduation I moved to San Diego, where I worked as an account manager for Acosta. After advancing my work at Acosta, I was offered an opportunity to move

Los Angeles and work for a startup- which is something I have always dreamt of doing. I started working for Integrity Wellness Brands where I got an opportunity to work with the BOMANI Cold Buzz Team. There’s nothing I love more than being a part of a company that’s growing and being part of that process is something that inspires me every day!

To me, working for BOMANI and Integrity Wellness Brands has been more than just a job, it has helped me find the work that I am passionate about.

Favorite time to drink BOMANI? Happy Hours, Festivals and at a tailgate cheering on the Chiefs!

Favorite music? Rap and Deep House

Passions? Traveling, Chipotle connoisseur, and smothering my dog.

Marc Geiger is the Worldwide Head of Music for WME. In his position, Geiger oversees strategy and operations for the world’s largest music booking agency. In 2018 Geiger’s team of 200 agents booked over 35,000 dates for artists across every musical genre including pop, hip-hop, rock, and electronic music. WME’s artists accounted for more Grammy winners than any other agency in 2018.

With the growth of the live touring business over the past decade, Geiger has led WME’s expansion into several growth areas. WME was the first major music agency to form an EDM division, playing an integral role in setting the genre’s live touring model through festivals and residencies. Geiger also founded the first agency festival department, taking advantage of the growth of music festivals around the world. Under his guidance, WME has made several key partnerships in this area, including Lollapalooza which Geiger co-founded in 1991 and has since taken to Argentina, Berlin, Brazil, Chile and Paris. In 2018, WME’s Festival Department booked over 1,700 performances, earning over $175m for clients.

In April 2015, WME acquired Australia’s top music booking agency Artist Voice, giving WME the largest global footprint of any music agency and providing access to Asia Pac’s accelerating live music business. Most recently, Geiger has led the charge on creating tours around WME’s digital talent, as well as ELeague, WME | IMG’s eSports venture. WME has also built a successful film scoring business, with WME clients taking home the Academy Award for Best Song for the past five consecutive years.

Additionally, Geiger represents some of the world’s most critically acclaimed artists including David Byrne, Depeche Mode, Neil Diamond, Jane’s Addiction, LCD Soundsytem, Steve Martin, Janelle Monae, Nine Inch Nails, Outkast, Pixies, Trent Reznor, Rihanna, Lindsey Stirling, The Flaming Lips, The Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Tom Waits, Jack White, and Hans Zimmer.

Geiger began his career as a concert promoter and worked as an agent at Triad Artists. After he co-founded Lollapalooza, Geiger was hired by Rick Rubin and appointed Executive Vice President of A&R, Marketing and New Media at American Recordings. In 1994, Geiger recognized the Internet’s enormous potential to provide a link between artists and consumers and launched ARTISTdirect. The site went on to become a media juggernaut, housing a talent agency, two record labels, a marketing solutions division and one of the most popular music destinations on the early Internet. He served as the company’s Chairman and CEO before joining the William Morris Agency in 2003.

Consistently recognized for his ability to forecast trends in the music industry, Geiger has been included on Billboard’s Power Players List, and Variety’s list of top talent agency executives.

A graduate of the University of California, San Diego, Geiger currently resides in Los Angeles.

Sean Elmi is a serial entrepreneur who has founded / co-founded four companies: Day Group (customizable phone cases), Cymbiotika (nutritional supplements), KNK Group (Cricket Wireless stores), and DASH Radio / DASH International (online radio). An innovative thinker and strategy expert, all of Sean’s companies have rapidly and effectively dominated their respective markets.

Sean sold Day Group to Duckie Accessories for an 8-figure sum just 26 months after it was founded. More recently, he led Cymbiotika to achieve $3 million in sales within 90 days of launch. At DASH Radio, in only 29 months, the company has 10 million monthly listeners and has raised substantial investments at a 9-figure valuation. Finally, under Sean’s leadership, KNK Group has been awarded the title of Cricket Wireless National Dealer of the Year. This award comes well earned – in 3 years, KNK Group has opened 172 stores in 4 states.

Many of Sean’s ventures have earned success due to his unparalleled ability to network and surround himself with talented people. At the businesses mentioned above, Sean has partnered with Mark Cuban, Novak Djokovic, DJ Skee, Snoop Dogg, Kevin Sujihara (CEO of Warner Bros), John Burbank (founder of Passport Capital), and many more.

Sean began his career at AT&T, where he shocked company veterans when he became the first person to win the highly coveted President’s Award two years in a row. At the time, Sean was 28 years old – one of the youngest executives in the history of the company.

Kelly is the Co-Founder and President of StageLight Group, which consists of her diverse investment holdings as well as a media, experiential events & creative development arm. Investments and projects under the StageLight Group umbrella include SCALE MVMT, HitRecord, BOMANI and Zipster as well as numerous real estate holdings and award-winning NYC restaurants.

Prior to starting StageLight, Kelly was a Partner and Executive Director of Business Development & Strategy at SkyBridge Capital. A member of the firm since 2010, she was instrumental in growing the firm’s assets to $14B and co-managed the firm’s new business & brand activation strategy; external affairs & relationships; media & communications initiatives; and geographical expansion efforts worldwide. In addition, she was an Owner and Executive Producer of the SALT Conference where she was directly responsible for all facets in developing, managing, and executing the 2,000-person award-winning thought leadership event and leading its 60+ person team. Prior to joining SkyBridge, Kelly was an Editor at John Wiley & Sons.
An award-winning content producer, Kelly has also ghostwritten, edited, and packaged hundreds of non-fiction books and published articles, including 3 New York Times bestsellers and 12 best-selling publications. She has created and led the editorial direction, strategic partnerships and event execution of premiere thought leadership conferences throughout the world, including SCALE MVMT and SALT.

Kelly received a Master’s degree in Organization & Leadership from Columbia University. She also earned a B.A. in English Literature from Wagner College and graduated summa cum laude.

Mike Gottlieb is an assurance partner and the Global leader of Ernst & Young’s Restaurant practice. Mike began his career in the restaurant industry as a restaurant operator—an invaluable experience that gave him an insider’s perspective on this unique industry. Thanks to his previous experience, Mike is able to view restaurant companies from the operators’ perspective, a key to understanding their significant challenges, whether it be digital transformation, real estate decisions from site identification to construction cost management and structuring of leasing arrangements; operating efficiencies in dealing with labor matters, food costs, and utilities costs; human resource matters related to current compensation structures to retirement plans and vehicles to regulatory compliance; or effective income and employment tax planning to minimize the overall tax burden. Mike has also advised dozens of restaurant companies in connection with initial public offerings and other strategic and financial transactions.

A 32-year Ernst & Young veteran (20 years as partner), Mike manages services, including assurance, advisory, real estate, transactional, human resources, and operational services, to several restaurant clients ranging from quick-service restaurants to full-service dinner houses. His clients have included Applebee’s, Baja Fresh, BJ’s Restaurants, Bloomin’ Brands, California Pizza Kitchen, Chipotle, Claim Jumper, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Colorado Avalanche, Colorado Rockies, Del Taco, Denver Nuggets, Garden Fresh, Hillstone Restaurant Group (Houston’s Restaurants), In-N-Out Burgers, IHOP, Johnny Rockets, Kona Grill, La Salsa, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Rams, Noodles & Company, Oakland Raiders, Perkins & Marie Callender’s, Mimi’s Cafe, Mendocino Farms, Panda Restaurant Group, Patina Restaurant Group, P.F. Chang’s, Real Mex, Ruby’s Diner, San Diego Padres, Sagittarius Brands, Santa Barbara Restaurant Group (Elephant Bar & Grill), Shake Shack, Shakey’s Pizza, Smith & Wollensky, Vicorp Restaurants, Wingstop and Yard House Restaurants.

Mike was involved with the initial public offering of the following companies: California Pizza Kitchen, Chipotle, Del Taco, Noodles & Company, Kona Grill, Perkins & Marie Calender’s, PF Chang’s, Real Mex, Shake Shack, Vicorp Restaurants and Wingstop.

Mike received his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Southern California. He is a Certified Public Accountant in California and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the California Society of Certified Public Accountants.