Bacardi Women In Leadership, in partnership with PUNCH, is pleased to present the second annual Spirit Forward Women Empowerment Series, dedicated to championing the outstanding individuals that make up the hospitality community, and elevating them to their highest potential. Kicking off April 1st in Chicago, and then onto Los Angeles and New York, this year’s Spirit Forward will examine timely topics such as representation, innovation, and disrupting the status quo, all through the lens of “originality,” and from a diverse group of voices both inside and outside the hospitality community.
“When Sheryl Sandberg predicted, ‘In the future there will be no women leaders. There will just be leaders,’ she was foreshadowing an important change in the conversation about equality, and the notion of ‘women’s empowerment,'” said PUNCH Editor in Chief Talia Baiocchi. “Our goal for Spirit Forward 2019 is to lean into that reality. We’ve gathered a group of forward-thinking women in all areas of hospitality, as well as the fitness, finance, and entertainment industries, to discuss what originality and creativity mean to them.
Their diverse perspectives are meant to show, rather than tell, what it takes to be a leader today.”
Attendees will be treated to discussions that tackle some of the toughest questions facing the industry
today, led by female leaders and entrepreneurs who have overcome these obstacles and forged their own original paths. Along with motivating stories, key insights, and compelling advice, experts will teach
participants how to handle their finances, build their own digital brands, and incorporate social activism
into their careers. Hospitality and Beverage leaders such as Executive Chef & Co-Owner of Dyafa, Reem
Assil, cookbook author and New York Times columnist Alison Roman, and award-winning female
bartenders from around the country will lead discussions along with returning advocates from The Financial Gym, activist Ashtin Berry and Causing A Stir co-founders Alexis Brown and Ariel Neal. The multi-talented team of Bacardi Portfolio Ambassadors will host the summit and will be joined on stage by the official MC of Spirit Forward, comedian and bartender Siobhan Tuck.
” At Bacardi, we believe we can power growth by bringing people together and unleashing the talent that reflects the diversity of today’s consumers and our industry,” says Paula Glickenhaus, Head for Global Reflections at Bacardi. “Spirit Forward is a platform where women can come together to share their stories, learn from each other, and build a community that supports the advancement of women and equality for all in the spirits trade and hospitality community.”
Each event will culminate in an insightful and candid conversation between PUNCH Editor-in-Chief Talia
Baiocchi and Chef Missy Robbins, owner of two of the most critically acclaimed restaurants in New York,
Lilia & MISI, Esquire’s Chef of the Year 2018, the 2018 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef New
York, and this year’s James Beard Award nominee for Outstanding Chef. Robbins will give attendees an
inside look at the evolution of her career, lessons she’s learned through both success and failure, and the
importance of developing and holding firm to your own original point of view.
Join Bacardi and PUNCH along with celebrated professionals and industry leaders on the tour as they
bring the spirits and hospitality community together. Open to all interested individuals, the cost for
admission is $40 with a portion of the proceeds donated to Dress for Success, a not-for-profit with the
mission to empower women to achieve economic independence by providing a network of support,
professional attire and the development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.
To buy tickets, review the agenda or learn more, visit www.bacardispiritforward.net
