A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Kari Carlos holds an honors diploma from Woodward Academy and a bachelor of arts in history from Emory University. She began her career as an on-premise sales consultant with National Distributing Company’s fine wine team, gaining experience in brand building within the wine and spirits industry. Kari Carlos went on to serve as a district manager and area manager with the Atlanta-based firm. Along the way, she passed several graduate exams and earned Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET) Level 2 certification.

In 2011, Ms. Carlos joined Winehouse International, now Pacific Highway Wine & Spirits, as vice president of business development. In four years with the national wine importer and supplier, she helped launch brands including Chakras Wines from Argentina and Luna Nuda Wines from Italy. Since 2015, Ms. Carlos has served as vice president of National Distributing Company as well as a member of the Next-Gen leadership team. A member of the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, she enjoys traveling and listening to live music in her free time.