Bacardi Women In Leadership, in partnership with PUNCH, is pleased to present the second annual Spirit Forward Women Empowerment Series, dedicated to championing the outstanding individuals that make up the hospitality community, and elevating them to their highest potential. Kicking off April 1st in Chicago, and then onto Los Angeles and New York, this year’s Spirit Forward will examine timely topics such as representation, innovation, and disrupting the status quo, all through the lens of “originality,” and from a diverse group of voices both inside and outside the hospitality community.
“When Sheryl Sandberg predicted, ‘In the future there will be no women leaders. There will just be leaders,’ she was foreshadowing an important change in the conversation about equality, and the notion of ‘women’s empowerment,'” said PUNCH Editor in Chief Talia Baiocchi. “Our goal for Spirit Forward 2019 is to lean into that reality. We’ve gathered a group of forward-thinking women in all areas of hospitality, as well as the fitness, finance, and entertainment industries, to discuss what originality and creativity mean to them.
Their diverse perspectives are meant to show, rather than tell, what it takes to be a leader today.”
Attendees will be treated to discussions that tackle some of the toughest questions facing the industry
today, led by female leaders and entrepreneurs who have overcome these obstacles and forged their own original paths. Along with motivating stories, key insights, and compelling advice, experts will teach
participants how to handle their finances, build their own digital brands, and incorporate social activism
into their careers. Hospitality and Beverage leaders such as Executive Chef & Co-Owner of Dyafa, Reem
Assil, cookbook author and New York Times columnist Alison Roman, and award-winning female
bartenders from around the country will lead discussions along with returning advocates from The Financial Gym, activist Ashtin Berry and Causing A Stir co-founders Alexis Brown and Ariel Neal. The multi-talented team of Bacardi Portfolio Ambassadors will host the summit and will be joined on stage by the official MC of Spirit Forward, comedian and bartender Siobhan Tuck.
