Bio

Bill’s passion for beverages began at an early age. During his high school and college years his summers were spent working in the warehouse and driving a delivery truck for his family’s beer distributorships. He grew to love the beverage industry for many reasons – its dynamic culture, its well-branded and innovative products and most of all its entrepreneurial and committed people. His love of the industry led him in 2005 to found First | Bev, a private equity firm focused solely on the beverage industry. Bill is also the Executive Chairman and CEO of Topa Equities, Ltd., a diversified holding company based in Los Angeles. Topa includes over 25 businesses in four divisions: beer distribution, auto dealerships, insurance and real estate. His responsibilities at Topa have included over 75 middle-market acquisitions. Before joining Topa, he was an attorney with O’Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles and a legislative assistant to US Senator George J. Mitchell (D-Maine). Bill sits on the Boards of Directors of First | Bev and Topa Equities, Ltd. and on the Advisory Board (Executive Committee) of the UCLA Anderson School of Management. He is a former Board member of the New Belgium Brewing Company as well as the former Chairman of the Board of the Weingart Center, one of the nation’s largest facilities for the homeless. He is now Chairman of the Board of Experience Camps, a national nonprofit organization that provides free one-week camps for children who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling or primary caregiver. He received a BA from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine and a JD from the UCLA School of Law. Bill has two sons and lives in Los Angeles. He is an avid traveler and enjoys golf, yoga, hiking and cycling.