About Organizers

Amy Wirtanen is an executive marketing leader and general manager for consumer products and innovation. Amy Wirtanen is an experience marketing leader and general manager with a passion for developing enduring brands, attention-grabbing marketing campaigns, strong businesses, and successful teams. She is currently working as a marketing consultant as Principal, Brand Harbors Consulting and an intrepid entrepreneur. As a marketing consultant she works with start-up companies, advertising agencies, and multi-national companies in projects including brand strategy, culture development, digital and social marketing communications, and trade sales and marketing. Before becoming a marketing consultant, Amy was the Vice President/General Manager of the Regional Spring Water business at Nestlé Waters North America (now Blue Triton Brands). In this role, she oversaw the business and brand strategy for a $2B portfolio of six, market leading, regional bottled water brands (Poland Spring, Deer Park, Zephyrhills, Ozarka, Ice Mountain, and Arrowhead). Amy began her career in 1996 at Ernest & Julio Gallo where she worked in international marketing for Europe and domestic marketing and innovation for the Turning Leaf brand. In 2000, she joined Starbucks Coffee Company where she worked on the joint venture between Starbucks and Pepsi and created and launched the Starbucks Doubleshot brand, now a $650MM+ brand. Prior to her position at Nestlé, Amy spent seven years at PepsiCo where she held positions in innovation, brand strategy, and brand marketing for brands such as Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Max, and Tropicana. Amy’s second act in her career is to pursue her lifelong ambition to be an entrepreneur and to help other entrepreneurs fulfill their vision. She is a Founding Partner and Advisor for Merchant’s Daughter Ciderworks which manufactures and sells its award-winning Merchant’s Daughter Premium Hard Cider throughout New England. Amy has always had a passion for creativity and innovation and has a track record as a results-oriented marketing leader with the proven ability to build brands and businesses as well as high functioning, highly motivated teams. For much of her 22 year career, Amy has acted as an “intrepreneur” within the world’s leading consumer packaged goods companies. Now, she is excited to become an entrepreneur, establishing her own leading companies and passion projects. Amy holds an undergraduate degree from The University of Michigan, and an MBA from the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at The University of Virginia. She lives on the beautiful coast of Maine with her four-legged and two-legged family. She is an active mentor and volunteer with the local humane society and a member of the Board of Trustees for the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library and sits on the Advisory Board for several start-up ventures.