Our Team
Jeff Hopmayer
An entrepreneur at heart, Jeff Hopmayer has firmly planted his roots in the food and adult beverage industry. Fresh out of the University of Denver’s business school in 1988, Jeff founded and operated a bakery in Chicago. Over the course of 11 years, this business would grow to become the largest preferred food supplier of Starbucks, as well as a major player in the international food industry at large. Jeff soon found himself on the cover of Inc., Forbes, and Fortune, and was deemed a rising star in the global food and beverage marketplace.
When the time came, Jeff sold this company in favor of returning to his entrepreneurial roots. He then founded a new company, based out of Nashville, which specialized in wine and spirits. This company gained success and grew very quickly. After finding success in over 44 countries, Jeff eventually took the company public on the London Stock Exchange.
After several years of success, Jeff bought back all the company’s U.S.-based assets and returned to the private sector. As years passed, Jeff began to narrow the scope of this enterprise to focus specifically on wine. This led him to purchase a large winery and vineyard in California. Finally, after several years at the helm, he hung up his CEO role to begin consulting.
With more than 30 years of experience as a Chief Executive in both the public and private sectors of the adult-beverage industry, Jeff has built companies from the ground up. Through that process, he has overseen mergers, acquisitions, IPOs, and much more. Jeff has gained extensive experience in the retail, consumer products, and adult beverage arenas through these companies, and is now sharing his knowledge with other entrepreneurs through Brindiamo Group.
Jeff sits on the board of several privately owned companies in the consumer products space, as well as a private equity firm and a Chicago-based foundation.
Jason McMurray
Having graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in English, Jason McMurray came to Brindiamo Group with 24 years of experience in alcohol distribution, manufacturing, and brand development. Joining Brindiamo Group as a veteran in logistics, business development, and entrepreneurship, Jason has brought extensive knowledge to the Brindiamo team.
Starting out in management roles for large distributors of wine, beer, and spirits, Jason routinely worked with major manufacturers to develop new production facilities, gaining strong experience with the logistics that power the adult beverage industry.
As Jason’s career progressed, he began taking on lead roles in creating and launching new brands of adult beverages — many of which have become household names. Thanks to Jason’s expertise and leadership, these brands have been distributed throughout the United States, as well as within a number of key export markets abroad.
Currently residing in the Franklin, Tennessee area, Jason works with various charitable organizations to help causes that are close to his heart. Chiefly focusing on Nashville’s at-risk populations, and the historic preservation of the town of Franklin, Jason has been a great asset to the team.
Chad Hilderbrand
Chad graduated from the University of Indianapolis with a degree in Accounting. He was also a member of the golf team earning All-American honors three times before graduating.
Over his career, Chad took on various roles in finance from investment management, credit analysis and tax prep for high-net-worth individuals before finally settling on accounting and operational roles in the single family office space. While working in the family office space, Chad experienced deal structures, cash flow management, trust administration, investment operations and accounting for $200M+ in real estate holdings.
Chad currently resides in Franklin, Tennessee, with his wife and two rambunctious children. He enjoys playing competitive amateur golf at the state level and is a member of the Tennessee Society of CPAs.