Schedule a Distilled Spirits Industry Speaker

Looking for the perfect Spirits Industry speaker?

Point-driven and informative, our speakers know how to speak candidly about the current trends to provoke thought and deep understanding.

DISCUS offers a wide variety of speakers whose knowledge and expertise will interest your audience. Whether it’s a keynote presentation for your next conference, an interactive training seminar, a strategy session or panel discussion facilitation – we can tailor the content to meet your needs.

How to Schedule a Speaker

Email [email protected] with the following information:

  • Name of speaker you are interested in booking
  • Date of your program
  • Name of event
  • Type of presentation (Keynote, Panel, Moderator, etc.)
  • Topic you would like them to speak about

Meet our Speakers

Chris Swonger: President and CEO

With over 25 years of experience in the public and private sector, representing elected officials and three diverse, global consumer goods companies, Chris Swonger has led integrated corporate affairs strategies with responsibility for public affairs, international government affairs, corporate reputation management, corporate communications, brand public relations, philanthropy, social responsibility policy and programming with distinction.

Chris serves as the President & CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States and Responsibility.org. DISCUS is the leading voice for distilled spirits in the U.S. market and serves as the industry’s advocate in state capitals, the nation’s capital and foreign capitals around the globe. Funded by leading distillers, Responsibility.org leads the fight to eliminate drunk driving and underage drinking and promotes responsible decision-making regarding beverage alcohol.

Christine LoCascio: Chief of Policy, Strategy, & Membership

Christine A. LoCascio joined the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), a national trade association representing U.S. producers, marketers, exporters and importers of distilled spirits products, in 2001.  Ms. LoCascio is responsible for coordinating and implementing the Council’s federal, state and international trade public policy objectives.  In this role, Ms. LoCascio advocates in support of DISCUS priorities, such as securing a permanent extension of Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act of 2017, an end to the imposition of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. spirits exports, and improved market access for distilled spirits at the state level.  In addition, Ms. LoCascio oversees the Distilled Spirits Council’s participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Market Access Program (MAP) to ensure compliance with relevant USDA regulations.

She has led successful lobbying efforts on behalf of DISCUS and in the U.S. business coalitions supporting passage of the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Korea, Colombia, Panama, Australia, Chile and Singapore, and other trade legislation, including the WTO accessions of Vietnam, Russia and China and Trade Promotion Authority.

Since February 2008, Ms. LoCascio has served as an advisor on the Agricultural Technical Committee for Trade (ATAC) in Processed Foods, which provides technical advice on U.S. agricultural trade issues to the Secretary of Agriculture and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).  She also currently serves as Chair of the U.S. Department of Commerce and USTR’s Industry Trade Advisory Committee for Consumer Goods (ITAC 4).  She is a member of the Washington International Trade Association (WITA) and currently serves as a Board Member of the WITA Foundation.  She is also as a member of the Executive Committee of the U.S. Agricultural Export Development Council and of Women in International Trade (WIIT).  She previously served as a Member of the WIIT Board of Directors.

Ms. LoCascio received her B.A. in History and Italian Language and Literature from Washington University in St. Louis and her M.A. in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).   She is a current member of the Johns Hopkins SAIS Women’s Alumni Network (SWAN).

Courtney Armour: Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary

Courtney Armour joined the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS)  from the law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where she was a member of the firm’s antitrust group. At Wilson Sonsini, Armour represented clients on competition matters in complex litigation, merger advocacy, product innovation and business counseling, and both domestic and foreign government investigations. These matters involved representation before federal courts, the Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission, and other state and foreign authorities.

Armour also served as a Competition Counsel Secondee to Google, Inc., in New York City where she managed investigations and provided counseling on product innovations and business plans, both domestic and foreign.

Prior to receiving her juris doctor degree, cum laude, from Northwestern School of Law, Armour served as DISCUS’ state government relations manager.

Robert Maron: Vice President, International Trade

Robert Maron joined the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS), a national trade association representing U.S. producers, marketers, exporters and importers of distilled spirits products, in November 2013.  Mr. Maron is responsible for implementing the Council’s international trade policy objectives and overseeing its export promotion activities.

In this role, Mr. Maron works to promote and protect the U.S. spirits sector’s interests in multilateral, regional and bilateral trade agreements and to monitor and address wide-ranging regulatory developments that affect worldwide exports of U.S.-produced distilled spirits.

He has led successful lobbying efforts on behalf of DISCUS and in the U.S. business coalitions supporting passage of Trade Promotion Authority and securing Colombia’s elimination of its discriminatory excise tax on imported spirits.  He has also led trade successful trade missions promoting American distilled spirits to Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Colombia, and Brazil.

In June 2019, Mr Maron was appointed to serve as an advisor on the Agricultural Technical Committee for Trade (ATAC) in Processed Foods, which provides technical advice on U.S. agricultural trade issues to the Secretary of Agriculture and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).  He is also a member of the Washington International Trade Association (WITA) and the American Bar Association’s International Law Committee.

Mr. Maron received his B.A. from Union College, a J.D. from Gonzaga University School of Law, and an LL.M in International Law from the George Washington University Law School.