FLAVORMAN - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of Business Development
Brad Nichols serves as the Director of Business Development at Flavorman, with the responsibility of on-boarding beverage partners to take their first flavorful step to an exciting journey. Brad joined the company in September 2021 to follow his true passion: helping clients bring their beverage dreams to life and change what the world is drinking.
Prior to joining Flavorman, Brad held 20 years of beverage experience in various industry roles, including management of national sales, marketing, on-boarding and operations for co-packers, manufacturers and breweries/distilleries. He has served in leadership roles at organizations such as Alltech's Lexington Brewing & Distilling, Bryant Distributing Company, Dogfish Head Brewing & Distilling, Heidelberg Distributing, Rafferty's Inc., Sheehan Family Companies, The Unknown Brewing and Wild Pack Beverages.
Brad received his bachelor's degree in arts & humanities with a concentration in philosophy and literature from Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky. He is currently working towards a master's degree in library science from the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky.
Flavorman founder David Dafoe has been recognized by the American Distilling Institute for his "outstanding contribution to distilling."
David Dafoe founded Pro-Liquitech International in 1992 after being employed by the Brown-Forman Beverage Company where he developed the Jack Daniel's Country Cocktails, Pepe Lopez Margarita Mix, Southern Comfort Cocktails and Jack Daniel's Lynchburg Lemonade Mix, among others. David started the company with only one customer and no employees - that quickly changed. Pro-Liquitech would later become Flavorman, an international custom beverage production company with clients like Chiquita Brands, Ocean Spray and Jones Soda.
In the spring of 2012, David founded Flavorman's sister company Moonshine University on the Beverage Campus in downtown Louisville, KY. Founded on Kentucky's rich distilling history and David's 25 years of experience in the beverage alcohol industry, Moonshine University, an artisan distillery and education center, was born. Moonshine University was designed to provide beverage alcohol industry education and training, both in a classroom setting and on equipment specially built for educational purposes. This enabled startup productions, industry professionals and those new to the industry to benefit from the region's wealth of experience and knowledge.
David volunteers for the Jefferson Community + Technical College, serves as a Director for the Miami University Foundation Board, as well as chairing the DEI Committee on the Board and other Miami University committees. He also volunteers for the Norton Healthcare Foundation Board, and the Board of Dare to Care, a local food bank. David is an avid traveler and has his certificate for Open Water SCUBA.
Jon Wood started with Flavorman in 1996 while still in college, learning to develop beverages. Jon also assisted clients with quality control overseeing client productions while developing production manuals. Jon transitioned into flavor production management and later accounting and inventory control. Jon moved from managing production to technical formulation scale up, creating Nutrition / Supplement Fact Panels, Ingredient Statements, artwork review, and working with the FDA and the Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). Jon added other functions including Finance, Information Technology, and Human Resources. Finally Jon landed in his current role as Chief Business Officer supporting most functions within Flavorman. Jon earned a B.S. in Chemistry from University of Louisville with a concentration in business.
Matt Madden has worked in the beverage industry since 2014. As Flavorman's Relationship Architect Director, Matt has created an automated client relations program, established an international sales division and created Flavorman's new customer service department. The Relationship Management Department, created in June 2021 and led by Matt, is focused on proactively improving the client's Flavorman experience through excellence in customer service.
Prior to Matt's tenure at Flavorman, his primary career focus was in the international arena, including stints with the US Department of State (International Liaison), US Peace Corps, World Affairs Council (Program Manager), Lusiada (Director of Operations) and Radio 101 (DJ). Whether in the non-profit sector, government or the for-profit sector, Matt's commitment to relationships he builds is second to none.
Peter V. Eberle joined Flavorman in July of 2021 as its Chief Strategy Officer. Working with key executives across critical platforms, his role is to lead the ongoing growth of Flavorman while maintaining its status as the premier beverage development company in the United States. Peter holds the responsibility of driving all aspects of strategy for the company and identifying key initiatives to guide this transformation. Peter has always had a customer-centric focus, exemplifying the core values of Flavorman's business and creating a steadfast platform from which Flavorman can deliver quality products that exceed customers' expectations.
Before coming to Flavorman, Peter was the President and CEO of Vanguard Modular Building Systems. His strength and energy in business leadership stem from over 20 years of experience spanning all facets of diverse businesses, holding C-Level positions with several large and dynamic companies both domestic and international industries. Peter has been very active within many professional associations and formerly held the title of OSHA Outreach Instructor. He graduated from the United States Marine Corps' PLC program and holds a B.S. in business from Miami University (Ohio).
Scott Weddle joined Flavorman in 2010, where he has since fulfilled a number of roles and duties, including warehouse management, purchasing, fulfillment quality-control and business development. In 2021, Scott was named Flavorman's Chief Operating Officer, formerly serving as the Director of Business Development. Scott's vision for providing second-to-none service to clients is fueled by his complementary vision for continuing to build a positive company culture that attracts and retains the very best experts in the business.
Scott's path to Flavorman started with an early career focus in management, supply chain logistics and transportation. A life-long Kentuckian almost to a cliché, Scott loves basketball and bourbon, and will never miss the opportunity to tell even the most uninterested stranger that his wife's grandfather played basketball under legendary University of Kentucky basketball coach Adolph Rupp in the 1930s.
Job Titles:
- Director of Flavor Development
- Member of the Society of Flavor Chemists
As director of Flavor Development at Flavorman, Tom Gibson uses his years of experience developing flavor profiles from all corners of the globe to bring innovation and depth to Flavorman's flavor offerings. Along with our beverage development team, he strives to bring customers' specific visions of their dream beverages to life.
After graduating from Western Illinois University with a bachelor's degree in Biology, Tom began his food science career in the quality department at Weber Flavors doing sensory analysis on chocolate dairy powders. Over the last 25 years, his curiosity in all areas of the flavor industry has led him to roles in production, production management, quality control/assurance and flavor analysis. Before coming to Flavorman, he was the vice president of research and development, quality, and applications at Silesia Flavors for their US operations. Tom became a certified flavor chemist in 2002.
Tom is a member of the Society of Flavor Chemists (SFC) and Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), and a former member of the Food Extracts and Manufacturers Association (FEMA). He currently serves as a director on the board of the National Association of Flavors and Food-Ingredient Systems (NAFFS), in addition to previously serving on the tasting panel for Perfumer and Flavorist Magazine's Organoleptic Characteristics of Flavor Materials for over 20 years.