Born to Italian immigrants in Cairo, Egypt, Beatrice De Marco experienced a truly multi-cultural upbringing. While living abroad, she and her brother attended Italian schools and became fluent in four languages. Forced to leave war-torn Egypt, her family moved back to Italy and then to Beirut, Lebanon. In that country, civil war soon broke out. It was through these formative years that Beatrice gained a sense of adaptability and an appreciation for life.
Beatrice was dedicated to her studies and even though she was awarded a college scholarship in Italy, she chose to attend the American University of Lebanon. While there, she met a young U.S. Marine and the two fell in love and married. This brought Beatrice to the United States.
In 1991, she obtained her BS in Business Management from the University of Maryland. Eager to keep her language skills sharp, she taught language arts at the international InLingua School in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Through this activity, she encountered Bob Cappuccino, then National Sales Manager at Winebow, who was impressed by her background and penchant for languages. Bob introduced her to Leonardo LoCascio, who immediately recognized the value that Beatrice could bring to the fledgling company. She grew quickly at Winebow, moving from Executive Assistant to Import Manager and then to Director of National Imports, where she assumed an important role in the development of the import company’s infrastructure and portfolio management. Beatrice continued to learn and grow, taking courses about wine and assuming new responsibilities and challenges as she became more involved at a national level.
Today, Beatrice serves as the Vice President of National Contracts for The Winebow Group, overseeing corporate supplier relationships. Her long tenure, loyalty and business acumen renders her invaluable to all divisions. Throughout her tenure, Winebow, now The Winebow Group, has grown from an organization of 75 employees to one of 2,000. The group now has four specialized import divisions focused on promoting fine wine and spirits in 50 states and its portfolio spans over 150 global suppliers.
Beatrice is proud to have been part of this amazing company’s success story and states that “she is grateful to have met a pioneer and visionary in Leonardo, whose mentorship always pushed her to greater heights.”
Her tenacity, positive outlook and ability to embrace life’s ever-twisting paths, makes her an inspiration and role model to young women.
