925-299-4450
JEFF OTTOBONI
Partner - COOs2GO
"Great company cultures and a relentless focus on overall stakeholder (versus shareholder) value lead directly to positive business and financial performance."
Jeff brings to our clients years of deep experience in the beverage alcohol industry, encompassing virtually all business operations and companies large and small. Holding various C-suite roles throughout his career, he also contributed at the Board level, frequently as the lead company officer addressing overall business performance. Throughout his career, Jeff emphasizes talent development and education, team building, employee recognition, coaching and encouraging cross-functional participation and viewpoints in all critical business decisions. Most recently, as company COO, he led the turnaround of a struggling Monterey Peninsula beverage and hospitality operation.
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After graduating from the UCLA School of Law, Jeff spent seven years with the E&J Gallo Winery, the largest winery in the world, and was responsible for a variety of legal, accounting, finance and administrative tasks. He was also among the first winery employees to earn his CPA certificate through the winery’s internal audit function.
Following Gallo, Jeff moved on to the boutique wine world, first as the CFO for the ultra-premium Cuvaison Winery in the Napa Valley and then as President of the highly regarded David Bruce Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains. In both cases, Jeff was responsible for a significant turnaround in business and financial performance. These transformative abilities would prove to be key in his future companies.
Jeff then shifted into more entrepreneurial environments. He was among the first employees of Premier Pacific Vineyards, a $450 million multi-entity wine industry investment group which grew to 130 employees. He was one of three officers of the company (the other two being the co-founders) and was responsible for company financial operations, planning, control, compliance and administration, including communications to the major investor, the California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS). With Wilson Daniels, Jeff was responsible for all operations, planning, control and administration for a high-end international marketing and sales agent representing some of the most prestigious wine brands in the world.
Jeff returned to the beverage manufacturing arena with the international Paul Hobbs Winery based out of Sonoma County, with operations in New York, Argentina, Armenia, France and Spain as well. Serving as COO and CFO with direct access to the well-known company namesake he created significant operational change throughout the entity group. At North Coast Brewing Company, Jeff made his first foray into craft beer, leading one of the top craft brewers through the difficult Covid years. As CEO, he led a complete financial and operational turnaround from the company’s loss of several million dollars prior to his arrival.
In 2022, Jeff worked with private equity to buy a beverage business before relocating to the Monterey Peninsula to run a lifestyle business focused primarily on wine. He currently lives in Marin County, close to where he lived and worked for most of his adult life.
Jeff holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration degree (B.B.A.) from the University of Notre Dame and a J.D from the UCLA School of Law.
707-478-9225