Gary Vaynerchuk, Chairman
Gary loves wine, people and social media. He has channeled each of these passions in many ways – through Wine Library TV, his many keynotes, and Vaynermedia. Now Gary has combined ALL of these passions into one through Cork’d – he seeks to make wine accessible, approachable and fun. Beginning in 1997, Gary rebranded his family’s local liquor store, building it into the national retail powerhouse Wine Library. It always troubled Gary to observe the stuffiness of the industry – conceited wine aficionados, snobby shopkeepers unwilling to educate their consumers, and seemingly mystical conventions all combine to make wine seem intimidating to the uninitiated. Gary’s unique identity as both a wine expert and a “real person” has reinvented the concept of wine tasting for a new generation. Now a father, Gary has been blessed with a daughter and is cherishing every moment of fatherhood with his wonderful wife, Lizzie.

Lindsay Ronga, Chief Executive Officer
Lindsay is passionate about learning, politics, music, and connecting with human beings on the most genuine level. And WINE, of course! One of her favorite varietals is Pinotage. In her free time she enjoys bouldering, practicing yoga, live music and reading. You’ll likely find her at a wine bar or spending time with family and friends. Born and raised in Austin, TX, she is forever grateful for her family! Prior to Cork’d, Lindsay worked in Boston as an Associate for Spectrum Equity, a $4 billion private equity fund, covering the online media and software sector. Lindsay was also a part of Citigroup’s Technology Investment Banking Group in Palo Alto, CA working on a number of transactions ranging from mergers and acquisitions to equity offerings. In her endeavor to learn more about the wine industry, Lindsay worked for Empire Merchants (Charmer Sunbelt), a large beverage distributor, as a financial analyst. Lindsay received a B.S. in Finance with Distinction from the University of Colorado and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Kyle Bragger, Chief Technical Officer
Kyle is a passionate developer with experience in several programming languages, scaling high traffic websites, and standards-based design. In the past, he has worked with The Huffington Post, helping the publisher roll out new community features and optimize site performance, mSnap/SmartReply, helping to scale their mobile messaging engine to handle millions of SMS messages per day; he also runs Forrst, a community for designers and developers. Along with Nate Westheimer, Kyle also co-founded BricaBox, the world’s first social content platform. Kyle blogs about code, design, and some fairly random things at kylewritescode.com; You should also follow Kyle on Twitter here: @kylebragger.

Jon Troutman, Senior Editor
Jon loves all things wine related – discussing, learning, drinking and above all, sharing it. Born and raised on Cape Cod, MA, he was introduced to food and wine from a young age while working in his family’s restaurant. Prior to joining Cork’d, Jon attended the University of Vermont where he received his B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. After graduating, he returned home to his family’s restaurant, Scargo Café, as the general manager. In less than a year he took the wine program from a modest 40 bottle selection to a multiple award winning program. In the summer of 2009 he became certified with the Court of Master Sommeliers. His interests include running, skiing, eating out, social media and spending time with friends and family. Some of his favorite wine regions are Rhone, Alsace, Champagne and Germany.