Our People

Simon Bergson started Manhattan Beer Distributors in 1978 with not much more than a dream, a desire to work hard and a handful of employees. Manhattan Beer Distributors first warehouse was a 4,000 square foot garage located on East 5th Street in Manhattan, hence the name Manhattan Beer Distributors.

Today, Manhattan Beer Distributors has grown to employ over 1,700 people and is one of the largest beer distributors in the country, delivering over 46 million cases of beer annually. Operating out of five warehouses: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Wyandanch, and Suffern, Manhattan Beer Distributors warehouse capacity has grown from 4,000 square feet to over 1,500,000 square feet. Manhattan Beer Distributors represents over 75 beer suppliers and over 250 brands.

Simon was born in a U.S. Government Displaced Persons Camp in Austria and was 6 months old when the Bergson family came to the United States. Both of his parents survived the Holocaust and Hitler’s Auschwitz death camp. Simon learned at a very young age the meaning of survival, perseverance, and drive. He earned an Associate of Arts Degree majoring in language (Spanish) from Queensborough College.

In addition to being the Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Manhattan Beer Distributors, Simon serves as:

• Board Member of SOBRO (South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation, Past Chair).
• Past Board Member and Past Chair of the New York State Beer Wholesalers Association.
• Past Board Member of the National Beer Wholesalers Association.
• Trustee of the Museum of Jewish Heritage- A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, in Battery Park, NY.
• Chairman of the Board of Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation in Oswiecim, Poland.

Simon was awarded with the “Knights Cross of the Order of the Merit of the Republic of Poland” for his dedication and work toward Polish-Jewish relations. In addition, he was knighted by the “Belgium Brewers Guild” for his dedication to Belgium Brewing.

Simon resides in NYC with his wife Stefany and has three grown children, Brianne, Alex and Mitchel.

Kimberly L. Coulter currently serves as chairman and CEO of Coulter Enterprises, LLC, a private investment firm headquartered in Wichita, KS. Mrs. Coulter has also served as the Art and Design development director of Ringor, LLC, an athletic Baseball and Softball footwear company that Mrs. Coulter’s Family founded, owned, and operated from 1983 to 2018.

Mrs. Coulter is currently an investor in Brew Culture LLC, dba 7 Brew Coffee, as well as a franchisee of 7 Brew Coffee.

She also currently owns and operates The Plaid Giraffe, located in Wichita, Kansas. The Plaid Giraffe is a luxury goods retailer of exclusive French and English crystal, designer jewelry, bridal registry, and tabletop décor.

Mrs. Coulter has previously served on the board of Forest Hills Elementary School in Lake Oswego, OR, and as a Director of Ringor, LLC.

Mrs. Coulter has a degree in Graphic Art and Clothing Design from Portland Art School.

Mrs. Coulter is the widow of Jamie B. Coulter. They have two sons, Jack and Peter. Mrs. Coulter currently resides in Wichita, Kansas.

Prashanth Mekala is a cybersecurity and enterprise risk executive with over two decades of experience protecting critical digital assets across the public and private sectors. Prashanth’s career reflects a track record of leading large teams, operating in difficult environments, and delivering exceptional results. He currently serves as Chief Security Officer at Rokt, a profitable, late-stage advertising technology scaleup with over $600M in annual revenue and several global offices. At Rokt, he leads global physical security, cybersecurity, AI governance, and regulatory readiness as the company prepares for IPO. His responsibilities include Board-level cyber risk reporting, product security, and enabling innovation through secure infrastructure.

Previously, Prashanth served as Deputy Enterprise Chief Information Security Officer at American Family Insurance, a Fortune 200 company with $20B in annual revenue. For four years he led the organization’s enterprise-wide cybersecurity program, advising the Board’s audit and risk committees and shaping cyber strategy across a complex portfolio of insurance businesses. He partnered closely with senior leadership to assess technology risks with the potential to materially impact operations, customer trust, and financial performance. Earlier in his career, Prashanth spent over 16 years with the FBI, rising to Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office. He led some of the Bureau’s largest cyber and counterintelligence investigations, focused on foreign threats to U.S. infrastructure and the private sector—work that resulted in high-profile prosecutions and commendations from the FBI, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, and the Intelligence Community.

Prashanth holds an undergraduate degree in engineering from Carnegie Mellon, a graduate degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, and a master’s in information technology from Carnegie Mellon. He also holds multiple industry recognized cybersecurity certifications. Prashanth is an NACD Directorship Certified® member and a Directors Digital Network Qualified Technical Expert, with formal governance training in audit, risk oversight, and cyber risk.

Charlie Merinoff is a principal founder of Breakthru Beverage Group (BBG), the innovative beverage wholesaler formed by Charmer Sunbelt Group (CSG) and Wirtz Beverage Group on January 1, 2016. He currently serves as Co-Chairman of BBG’s Board of Managers.

Charlie devotes a significant amount of time and resources to charitable organizations. He is presently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. He is the founder and director of True Eats, a non-profit organization whose mission is to raise money for nonprofits in the food space. Additionally, Charlie spent twelve years on the Board of Trustees of the Culinary Institute of America and is currently Trustee Emeritus. He is an active member of the Board of the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation for over twenty years.

Charles has previously been on the Board of Trustees of Northwell Health—formerly North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System and Make-A Wish Foundation Metro New York. Charlie spearheaded the annual “Wine and Wishes” tasting and auction, which raised nearly $8.0 million over 13 years for Make-A-Wish.

Charlie has been honored over the years by The TJ Martell Foundation, Wine Enthusiast—Wine Star Award Person of the Year, Boys Town of Italy, the Boy Scouts of America, the UJA-Federation of New York, the American Cancer Society and he received the George Washington Spirit Award at Mt. Vernon. He is a long-time board member and past Chairman of the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America.

James J. Hunt began his law enforcement career in the New York City Police Department in 1982. In 1985, he graduated the DEA Academy at Quantico, VA and became a DEA Special Agent assigned to the New York Division.

Throughout Mr. Hunt’s career with the DEA he held supervisory positions in the Miami Field Division; Special Operations Division in Chantilly, Virginia; and New York Division. Mr. Hunt oversaw multi-jurisdictional investigations leading to the dismantling of major international drug cartels.

In 2010 Mr. Hunt was selected to lead the New York Drug Enforcement Task Force in the position of Associate Special Agent in Charge, a Senior Executive Service position, overseeing the men and women of the DEA, NYPD and New York State Police. The New York Drug Enforcement Task Force is the largest and oldest task force still used as a model for drug enforcement task forces worldwide.

In 2014, Mr. Hunt was promoted to the position of Special Agent in Charge of the New York Division, which is DEA’s largest. In that capacity he had supervisory responsibility for one thousand federal, state and local law enforcement personnel.

Mr. Hunt retired from government service in November 2019 and founded the HUNT Group, an investigative and security consulting service.

Mr. Hunt received a B.A. in Criminal Justice from Seton Hall University. He is the recipient of the United States Attorney General’s Award for Excellence in Law Enforcement and the DEA’s highest award, the Administrator’s Award of Honor.

Jonathan Larsen serves as Vice President, Director of Security for SL Green Realty Corp., where he is responsible for leading security operations at One Vanderbilt and supporting fire and life safety across the company’s portfolio. In this capacity, he oversees risk mitigation, crisis management, and the protection of high-profile commercial assets, working closely with law enforcement and public safety partners to ensure the safety and security of SL Green’s tenants and properties.

Mr. Larsen brings to this role more than 31 years of distinguished law enforcement experience, having retired in March 2025 as a senior executive with IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI). Most recently, he served as Executive Director of Field Operations (Northern Area), providing executive oversight for seven major field offices spanning 17 states. Mr. Larsen directed the strategic pursuit of high-impact criminal tax, financial crime, and cyber-enabled threats, shaping national enforcement priorities and ensuring the effective deployment of investigative resources to protect the integrity of the U.S. financial system.

Throughout his federal career, Mr. Larsen held a variety of key leadership positions, including Special Agent in Charge of the New York and Newark Field Offices, and Acting Director and Deputy Director of International Operations in Washington, D.C. He led major domestic and international initiatives to dismantle sophisticated financial crime networks, combat offshore tax evasion, and foster collaboration with global enforcement partners. Mr. Larsen was widely recognized for developing innovative strategies to address emerging threats, building interagency coalitions, and championing outreach and education to mitigate risk.

Mr. Larsen began his law enforcement career as a police officer and detective in New Jersey before joining IRS-CI as a Special Agent in 2000. He is known for his commitment to public trust, accountability, and multidisciplinary teamwork in the fight against complex financial crimes.

As an advisory board member for the Federal Law Enforcement Foundation, Mr. Larsen brings deep expertise in financial crime enforcement, proven executive leadership, and a strong dedication to supporting the law enforcement community.

Mr. Varrone joined Morgan Stanley in September 2005 as Head of Global Security. In this role he has responsibility for the safety and security of 60,000 staff in 36 countries. Other responsibilities include: terrorist risk assessment and mitigation, crisis management and preparedness, investigation of internal or external fraud, theft or loss prevention, executive protection, and global security strategies and business intelligence.

Mr. Varrone served as the Director of Global Security at Credit Suisse between 2003 and 2005. Preceding his entry into Corporate, he served for 26 years in Federal law enforcement in the U.S. Department of the Treasury, United States Customs Service as a special agent. Based upon his leadership accomplishments, he was appointed by Customs Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly to Assistant Commissioner, the agency’s highest career position. In this role, Mr. Varrone was responsible for the management of a 762 million-dollar budget and the daily operational and administrative activities of over 7,000 special agents, intelligence analysts, pilots, and air and marine interdiction officers serving in 142 domestic and 30 international offices.

On September 11, 2001, Mr. Varrone, served as the Commissioner of the U.S Customs Service and was responsible for leading the agency’s tactical, intelligence and aviation response in securing all land borders and ports of entry. This included the activation of the Threat Management Center, Mission Critical Team, implementation of agency and government-wide Continuity of Operations Plan and deployment of Customs P-3 aircraft to lead domestic airspace security coverage.

Mr. Varrone received a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. In addition, Mr. Varrone completed the Senior Executive Fellows Program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. In recognition of his leadership and exemplary performance, Mr. Varrone was awarded the Presidential Meritorious Service award in 2003. Mr. Varrone and his wife Judi have been married for 30 years and have three children, John, Ryan and Kaitlin.