Distill Ventures (DV), the world’s first independent accelerator devoted to building and scaling the drinks brands of the future, has announced several key leadership appointments positioning itself for expanded growth in North America.

Justin Lew has been promoted to Managing Director, Distill Ventures North America, and Evis Savvides to President, North America Commercial, while Jennie Leuzarder joins as Portfolio Director. Lew’s appointment follows the promotion of Heidi Dillon to become Distill Ventures’ global CEO.

Freeman Vineyard & Winery added three key staff members:

*  Kevin Hinchman, Brand Manager

*  Dar Cluster, Director of Hospitality, was operations manager at Flowers Winery before joining Freeman.

 * Eiji Akaboshi, Associate Winemaker, joined Freeman a decade ago. He's the great-great-grandson of winemaker Nagasawa Kanae, a Japanese native who emigrated to Sonoma County in the 1800s and became known as the "Wine King of California."  By the turn of the 19th Century, he ran Fountqin Grove Winery, one of the state's largest and most influential wineries in Santa Rosa.