Dariusz is the CEO and founder of Rocket Vodka.

A long-time Silicon Valley CMO with experience at Verizon, Yahoo, Microsoft, Aol, and NBC. He came to the US from Norway on a swim scholarship to study business. His drive to compete in and out of the water has fueled his passions and professional life since – and even earned him the nickname the Polish Rocket, the inspiration for our brand name. Today, he’s a CMO helping tech companies and category pioneers as large as $7.5B and as small as $15M to compete and grow. As a lifelong athlete, he brings a growth mindset and extreme collaboration with peers and teams to always improve, grow, excel, and win!

Dariusz has successfully positioned, branded, launched, and marketed emerging technologies (Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security, Consumer Media, Mobile Apps, Mobile Advertising, Connected Cars, Location-Based Services, Speech Recognition, Open Source, Search Engines, Digital Advertising) – and even vodka. Across customers and categories, regardless of conditions, competition, or challenges, he has amplified brands and accelerated business growth. Looking up and to the future, he’s putting his business, branding, and marketing experience and expertise to work for Rocket Vodka and our aspiration to create the fastest-growing vodka in California.

Dariusz’ peak moments: swimming, biking, running, skiing, scuba diving

Michael is our fractional Chief Product Officer.

He is a veteran Silicon Valley product and technology executive for industry-leading companies and category-pioneers such as Verizon, Yahoo, Netscape, and McAfee. He manages his own fractional leadership & consulting company (Albers Advisory), is a founding member of DutchTechX, board member of Spark of Genius, as well as a startup investor, coach, and advisor. He thrives on building great products at scale and startups alike, driving product strategy, operations, and execution, with customer experience, efficient operations, and return on investment as his north star. He is an expert creator of product-market fitness.

Whether tinkering on his classic car, 3D printing in-home solutions, or smart-automating his house, there’s nothing Michael can’t build or fix – he is wired to solve problems.

As a member of the Crew, Michael leverages his deep product and technology experience and expertise, combined with his electrical & industrial engineering education, to develop products, test hypotheses, create solutions, and lead our experimentation and innovation lab. Today, he is focused on fermentation, distillation, development, and partnerships, to create the best customer experience, products, scale and efficiency through our current and future product portfolio.

Michael’s peak moments: biking, scuba diving, skiing, tinkering

Tara is our Strategic Advisor.

Her deep sales, marketing, and channel experience spans over 20 years in F&B, DTC, and CPG. As CEO of Mikuna, she led the start-up from pre-revenue to omni-channel expansion in top US grocery retailers and foodservice. Her executive roles include CMO at Nutrafol and SVP of Marketing at Impossible Foods, where she launched the brand and its flagship burger.

Tara has also worked with major technology brands like Amazon, Samsung, Microsoft, and Aol, consistently introducing consumers to innovative products. As the Founder of Kulture, a plant-based cheesemonger brand, Tara redefines traditional cheese experiences with unique flavors and artisanal craftsmanship. Based in LA, Tara combines her passion for innovation with a track record of driving results for globally recognizable consumer brands.

Tara’s peak moments: cycling, hiking, swimming, paddle boarding, fundraising with LaGrange, Grand Masters Cycling, and the Avon 39 for cancer research and treatment

Howard is our fractional Chief Analytics Officer.

Most recently, he led the customer experimentation, product analytics, and data science teams for Yahoo’s global brand portfolio, reaching over 900 million users. His career spans insights, analytics, and marketing roles at Verizon, Yahoo, Cooliris, eBay, Amazon, and Deloitte. Howard holds an MBA from the University of Michigan and a BS in Finance and Supply Chain Management from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

While our brand is built on tradition and taste, our business is built on insights and innovation. Howard will bring his experience and expertise in analytics, data science, and supply chain management, along with his understanding of the technology platforms that enable such capabilities, to accelerate our insights and innovation. Specifically, he will be using the latest artificial intelligence and trendspotting tools to inform our product experimentation strategy – and predictive sales, services, and supply chain planning.

Howard’s peak moments: tennis, hiking, camping, climbing, kayaking, overlanding, woodworking, wrenching on cars, building things

Dmitry is our fractional Chief Revenue Officer.

He is a seasoned, award-winning executive that brings extensive experience in global marketing, sales enablement, field marketing, business development, strategic partnerships, and distribution channels, from a successful Silicon Valley career. He is also a restaurant investor/partner, startup advisor, and a board member. Dmitry has also been a member of the Forbes Communications Council since 2021.

Today, he leads our Sales and Service Crew, building our brand and business through our on-premise and off-premise launchpads. As a restaurant investor/partner, he has an intimate understanding of our customer needs and in turn their customers’ needs. He is leading our efforts to train sales and service Crew members based on our proven best practices, schedule tastings, win shelf space, earn featured cocktail menu placements, train on-premise staff, service launchpads, and win repeated reorders.

Dmitry’s peak moments: golfing, traveling, music, sports

Laura is our fractional Chief Brand Experiences Officer.

She has shaped product launches, branding, social, partnerships, expansions, and experiences with powerhouse brands such as Miller, Starbucks, and Kraft – and global tech giants like Google and Yahoo. She’s an award-winning creative leader who finds the beautiful balance between creative solutions and strategic results. Her experience in branding and campaigns spans food & beverage, tech, personal care, retail, and more. Her track record shows a focus on celebrating people – inspiring and empowering them to find their joy. She believes in the big picture of people's lives, where each step in their journey is a potential moment of inspiration and connection. She will elevate our brand, creative, and content across our customer experiences with innovation, inspiration, and celebration.

Laura’s peak moments: hiking, biking, strength workouts, DIY projects, cooking, mentoring a more diverse generation of confident creatives