Adding Value to Customers

The Presidents' Forum of St. Louis
February 07, 2008

Todd Epsten
CEO
Major Brands, Inc.

Speaker Biography:
Todd Epsten is the Chief Executive Officer of Major Brands, Inc., Missouri’s largest wine and spirits distributor and the only major distributor that remains locally owned. He is the third generation of his family to lead the company, which was started by his grandfather in Saint Joseph, Missouri in 1934, and is responsible for the company’s sales, operations, customers, suppliers and community relations.

Prior to becoming CEO, Todd was the Chief Operating Officer of the St. Louis office and Executive Vice President of sales. In 1988, he relocated to St. Louis to oversee the company’s expansion into eastern Missouri. Before that, Todd was the Marketing Director of the Kansas City operation and was a Marketing Manager for Forman Brothers, a wholesale beverage distributor in Washington, D.C.

Active in the community, Todd is the Chairman of Forest Park Forever, Vice Chairman of the Regional Business Council and Chairman Emeritus of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri. He also serves as a Trustee for the Saint Louis Science Center, Greater St. Louis Community Foundation and the Saint Louis Art Museum and formerly served as a St. Louis Airport Commissioner and as a Board Member of the Central Reform Congregation and the Jewish Federation.
Todd and Major Brands have received a number of awards in recognition of their involvement in the community. In 2006, Major Brands received the St. Louis Mayor’s Spirit Award, which is given to businesses that make major expansions or improvements in the city of St. Louis. In 2001, he received the St. Louis Business Journal’s “Reinvest in St. Louis Award” for his contributions to making St. Louis a better place to live.
Todd holds a B.S. in Political Science, with a concentration in Criminal Justice, from American University in Washington, D.C. and resides in the city of St. Louis with his wife and two sons.
With more than 625 employees throughout the State, Major Brands is Missouri’s largest wine and spirits distributor and the nation’s 18th largest. It has offices in St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbia, Springfield and Cape Girardeau. Its extensive product portfolio includes eight of the ten leading spirits brands, imported and micro-brewed beers, wines from throughout world’s leading wine producers and fine waters.

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