Management Team

Paul Mabray - Chief Executive Officer
Paul Mabray has been in the wine and spirits industry all his life. At Niebaum-Coppola he served as Program Manager before moving on to WineShopper/Wine.com. There he immersed himself in the burgeoning area of Winery-to-Consumer sales, leading their Winery Business Development strategies. Paul has served as a guest lecturer at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business for his leadership in the wine and spirits industry, as well as a North America Beverage Consultant for the Sumitomo Corporation of America between 2003 and 2005. Paul founded Inertia Beverage Group in 2002 with the goal of building the premier Direct Sales Services company, leveraging innovations in technology to bring Wineries and Wine Consumers closer together. Since then, Inertia has helped over 500 wine brands profitably implement Direct to Consumer and Direct to Trade initiatives. Paul lives with his wife and his son in Napa Valley.

Eric Hsu - Chief Style Officer
A professional website designer since 1993, Eric previously worked for Tribal DDB, where his client roster included such Internet innovators as Sony, Pepsi, Amtrak, Michelin, WB, and Lockheed Martin. As a freelance designer, Eric also worked with AOL Broadband, Cingular, Reader's Digest, Marie Claire, Columbia House, Johnson & Johnson, BestBuy and Hasbro.

Andrea Johnston - Vice President of Operations & Programs
With a background in technology and social entrepreneurship, Andrea has worked in a variety of roles including sales operations, marketing strategy, business development and strategic planning. Andrea has worked for VERITAS Software, PowerUP (launched by Steve and Jean Case), and has consulted for several venture capital and software companies. On the non-profit side, she founded and directed the Global Action Network and worked for a variety of international women's health organizations. In the early days of her career, Andrea learned a great deal about wine during her many years waiting tables at high-end restaurants to subsidize her non-profit salary. And then she changed directions, got an MBA, and now enjoys the fruits of her labor right here in the Napa Valley. Andrea manages Inertia's client facing teams who strive to 1) make wineries money, 2) save wineries money, and 3) deliver outstanding service.

Jeanne VanPelt - General Manager
Jeanne has over 30 years of experience in administrative/management capacities in a variety of industries. Her most recent position was as Administrative Manager at a premium Napa Valley winery where she directed all accounting, human resources and consumer direct sales activities. She currently manages IBG's business administration, accounting, operations and human resources departments.

Patrick Angeles - Chief Technology Officer
Patrick has over 10 years of experience in software development. He started with the Electronic Commerce group of Bankers' Trust, building technology components for risk-bearing digital certificates and electronic micropayments. He later joined Acquire Systems where he led the design and development of a browser activity measurement and analysis software used by Chase, VISA International and Nielsen//NetRatings. An avid home cook, his passion for food and wine eventually led him to join the technology team at Inertia Beverage Group. Patrick holds a Bachelor's degree in English and Computer Science from Oberlin College.

Natalie Douvos - Senior Director, Product Management
Having earned her BA in French from UC Berkeley, Natalie Douvos is certainly well-qualified to be a translator. And, as the person charged with mapping and navigating product and software development for IBG, the listening skills she developed while becoming fluent in three languages (she even speaks Greek!), may be one of Natalie's most important credentials.

Charged with steering the group that defines the business and functional requirements of the IBG software platform, Douvos works closely with clients to translate their business needs into the technical specifications required by internal developers to deliver tailored solutions that address big-picture goals. Having honed her skills with companies such as Cintech, MarkMonitor and SkyFlow, Douvos readily accepted the challenge of bringing a high tech solution to a very traditional industry.

Mitch Schwartz - Vice President, Sales
Mitch Schwartz knows sales. For more than 25 years, Mitch has practiced the art of sales and marketing, with such companies as Gallo, The Wine Group, and Constellation Brands.  Whether it be from the distributor’s, merchant’s or producer’s perspective, Mitch has participated in all levels of sales – on the streets, managing sales staffs, leading multi-million dollar sales forces, even teaching college-level sales and marketing.

A U.S Army veteran and Master of Business Administration, Mitch brings to Inertia Beverage Group the experience and big picture thinking that results in innovation and sales success.

Kristi Taaffe - Vice President, Marketing
As the Director of Marketing for Smith & Hawken, Kristi spent five years modernizing and accelerating their Direct-to-Consumer sales, helping make Smith & Hawken one of the leading outdoor living brands in America. Prior to this, she led marketing for Wine.com, and other early e-commerce players like previewtravel.com (now Travelocity). Most recently, Kristi oversaw the Consumer Relationship Marketing division at Foster's Wine Estates, where she led direct sales and marketing for nine Foster’s brands, including Beringer Vineyards, Chateau St. Jean and Etude Wines, among others.

With her solid background in technology and sales, and having fully caught the wine business bug, Kristi and Inertia are the perfect fit.  Now, her focus is on directing Inertia’s corporate branding solutions, as well as leading strategy development designed to bring exposure for Inertia’s client base to the ever-growing market of internet wine enthusiasts.