Industry pros who’ve made themselves available to you
Featured Experts are Symposium-affiliated professionals who’ve opened the door for direct connection — winery operators, technologists, and strategists doing the work. Reach out, ask questions, get advice from the people behind the tools and the talks.
Meet the Featured Experts
Four pros from across the wine sales ecosystem — winery tech, AV & infrastructure, business texting, and DTC strategy.
Evgeny Bazhutov
Evgeny Bazhutov is the Founder and CEO of WineSpot AI, where he leads product vision, platform architecture, and AI innovation for winery operations. With over 20 years of experience in restaurant industry management and software development, Evgeny focuses on applying practical AI solutions to improve customer experience and operational efficiency in the wine industry.
He specializes in intelligent automation, AI-powered customer communication systems, and deep integrations with leading DTC platforms including Commerce7 and RedChirp. Under his leadership, WineSpot AI has developed tools such as the Email Bot, Smart Help Center, and Voice AI Concierge — designed to reduce workload while enhancing guest engagement.
Evgeny is passionate about building scalable technology that empowers winery teams, increases operational clarity, and elevates every stage of the direct-to-consumer journey.
Michael Fletcher
Michael leads engineering at Signal Solutions where he helps our customers seamlessly integrate the latest audiovisual, surveillance, access control, and network technologies into their workplaces. Previously with Six Flags, where he led IT operations for the Northern California parks, including oversight of the largest single Point-of-Sale system in Northern California, in-park audio, and data infrastructure, he has a clear understanding of how technology drives and enhances guest experience.
Signal Solutions has nearly 40 years of experience partnering with our customers for their low voltage needs. As various systems converged on to the network, Signal Solutions was at the forefront of this revolution.
Jennie Gilbert
As a Founder of RedChirp, Jennie is obsessed with helping businesses meet consumers’ newly expanded expectations for virtual interactions. Calling and emailing may have been enough before, but now 89% of consumers want to text with businesses. RedChirp makes business texting easy: phone numbers, compliance, web chat, payments, marketing campaigns, automation, and wine industry-specific integrations to tie it all together.
A true nerd at heart, Jennie loves spreadsheets and a good data set to dig into, is a frequent speaker at business conferences and the co-author of two books. When not in the office, Jennie spends time cooking with her husband and chasing her Kindergarten-aged son. Her most prized possession is their well-worn, and heavily stained, wine-tasting notebook.
Tracy McArdle
Tracy McArdle is a Chicago native who made her way to Napa Valley in 2008 and built a career in the direct-to-consumer wine space by focusing on what actually drives results. With nearly two decades of hands-on experience, she’s known for blending hospitality with practical, data driven strategy in a way that wineries can execute.
Before wine, Tracy played Division I golf at the University of Central Florida and went on to work in banking and risk infrastructure, giving her a strong foundation in systems, analytics, and problem solving. That background continues to shape her approach today, where operational clarity and customer experience go hand in hand.
As COO of eCELLAR, Tracy works closely with wineries to simplify complexity, improve visibility into their business, and create more seamless, effective paths to sale. She’s especially focused on helping teams move faster, make better decisions, and get more value out of the tools they’re already using.
Outside of work, Tracy spends as much time as she can on the northern California coast, is a lifelong animal lover, and remains fiercely loyal to her Chicago roots especially when it comes to deep dish pizza.
2026 Symposium Sponsors
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Want to be on this page?
Featured Expert is a Symposium sponsorship tier ($500) for industry pros who want a permanent profile here — bio, photo, links, and a path for attendees to reach you directly. A handful of slots open each year.
Our 2026 sponsors
2026 Symposium Sponsors
Presenting Sponsor
Tote Bag Sponsor
Session Hosts
Networking Social Sponsor
Lunch Sponsor
Featured Exhibitors
Supporting Sponsors
The Wine Sales Symposium is Produced By